Community Outreach

The Department of Architecture/ Birzeit University acknowledges the importance of its societal role as a civil society institution. The different programs and partnerships with other academic and public institutions on both local and international scales accentuate through its joint ventures on community outreach programs unfolded in three major themes:

- Landscape & Environment: The Palestinian landscape is subjected to constant deterioration due to the rapid and unplanned urbanization and continuous unleashed sprawl as well as the colonial political economy which augments the rate of environmental and landscape change. Accordingly, the Department of Architecture takes lead in conducting several public awareness based actions in the form of film screenings, lectures and workshops that target the average Palestinians in different localities.

- Urban Amenity & Sustainable Development: The economic boost since Oslo Interim Agreements had lead to escalating changes in the urban space of Palestinian cities. Forces of investment have encroached social based spatial development leading to the loss of open spaces, green structures and cultural heritage sites as well as a grave relapse in transport problems and housing. The Department of Architecture together with local and public institutions such as municipalities and ministries envision sustainable solutions through student projects in architecture, urban planning and design tackling existing urban problems.

- Palestinian Architectural Identity: Modernization and global economy together with colonialism have lead to a drastic change in the Palestinian definition of their cultural identity. This change affected the evolvement of the Palestinian architectural style leaving a gap between vernacular and traditional architecture on the one hand and the modernized style which is currently overassertive on the other hand. Through cooperating with institutions of cultural heritage expertise, the Department of Architecture is engaged in projects, research, workshops and public lectures on issues of cultural heritage importance and Architectural identity.