Lana Judeh
Birzeit University, Architectural Engineering, Faculty Member
- Architecture and the Built Environment, Global History, 19th and 20th-century European philosophy, Architectural history and theory, Architectural Theory, Infrastructure, and 6 morePolitical Ecology, Urban Political Ecology, Environmental History, Palestine, Palestinian Studies, and Middle East Studiesedit
- An architect and independent researcher based in Ramallah. She was a faculty member at the Department of Architecture at Birzeit University from 2016 to 2024. Prior to this, she worked for six years at Riwaq on revitalisation projects of historic centres in Palestinian villages, and on producing ... moreAn architect and independent researcher based in Ramallah. She was a faculty member at the Department of Architecture at Birzeit University from 2016 to 2024. Prior to this, she worked for six years at Riwaq on revitalisation projects of historic centres in Palestinian villages, and on producing a manual for the rehabilitation of the old city of Ramallah. Lana holds an MA in Architecture, Cultural Identity and Globalisation from the University of Westminster, and a BSc in Architectural Engineering from Birzeit University. She was a visiting fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford in 2023. Her research and teaching focus on the built environment in Palestine, and explores how architecture and diverse forms of urbanism shape and are shaped by environmental, socio-economic, and political realities. She is currently interested in researching the interlinkages between indigenous environmental knowledge, infrastructures and localized modes of production in Palestine and beyond. Lana is a member of the editorial board of Arab Urbanism. She co-edited their 2023 special issue: Imaginaries from a Blackout- on everyday experiences with infrastructures in the Arab region.edit
This article tracks traces of historic and contemporary modes of decentralism embodied in the socioeconomic system in rural Palestine and, on a different level, heritage conservation practices by local organizations, mainly Riwaq, a... more
This article tracks traces of historic and contemporary modes of decentralism embodied in the socioeconomic system in rural Palestine and, on a different level, heritage conservation practices by local organizations, mainly Riwaq, a Ramallah-based center for architectural conservation. The aim is to highlight how these former agrarian built-environments can contribute to new bottom-up, collective, and sustainable governance systems, and how their historic and geopolitical context has influenced the local practice of cultural heritage conservation. The article explores how the modern, elitist, and Eurocentric field of conservation has been re-appropriated and localized in Palestine for the past twenty-five years. Key revitalization programs have dismantled the conservative, and highly institutionalized discipline into a “progressive form of activist preservation.” Architectural conservation in this context is looked at as a terrain intertwined with other fields, such as art, architecture, urbanism, sociology, environmentalism, and archivism. It could be also used as a lens to critically view not only the concepts of localism, nationalism, and colonialism, but also the notions of citizenship, environmentalism, self-sufficiency, and anti-consumerism.
Research Interests:
Film and Architecture' explores space, architecture and diverse forms of urbanism around the world through the lens of cinema. Through film screenings, discussions, and readings, we will examine how world cinema represents and constructs... more
Film and Architecture' explores space, architecture and diverse forms of urbanism around the world through the lens of cinema. Through film screenings, discussions, and readings, we will examine how world cinema represents and constructs the architecture of places and cities and their narratives of modernity. The course will discuss a series of films from world, Arab and Palestinian cinema across different genres such as drama, documentary, action, comedy and sci-fi. Visual narratives, representations, and films' mise-en-scène will be used to analyze space politics and negotiations, power relations among urban users and players, and invisible space codes and rules.
Research Interests: Urbanism, Capitalism, Contested Spaces (Anthropology of space), Modernism, Cinema, and 15 moreUrban Informality, Panopticism, Urban Decline, Ghetto, Utopia/dystopia, Anomie, Palestinian Cinema, Confinment, Metropolitan, Urban Justice, Architecture and Public Spaces, City Representations, Industrilization, Urban Alienation, and Future City
Arab Urbanism is delighted to present this special issue on everyday experiences and encounters with infrastructures in the Arab region. Ranging between academic, creative and photo essays, the issue explores different ways in which... more
Arab Urbanism is delighted to present this special issue on everyday experiences and encounters with infrastructures in the Arab region. Ranging between academic, creative and photo essays, the issue explores different ways in which infrastructure shapes and is shaped by social, economic, political and environmental realities in countries like Lebanon, Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait, Palestine, and Tunisia.
https://www.araburbanism.com/au2
https://www.araburbanism.com/au2
Research Interests: Geography, Human Geography, Political Geography and Geopolitics, Urban Geography, Political Economy, and 15 moreVisual Anthropology, Architecture, Middle East Studies, Urban Anthropology, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Urban Studies, Egypt, Sudan, Middle East, Arab world, Kuwait, Tunisia, Infrastructure, and Urban Political Ecology
Through dozens of maps, drawings, and archival and modern photos, the Manual for the Rehabilitation of the Historic Centre of Ramallah documents, analyzes, and evaluates Ramallah’s historic center, which lost approximately 50% of its... more
Through dozens of maps, drawings, and archival and modern photos, the Manual for the Rehabilitation of the Historic Centre of Ramallah documents, analyzes, and evaluates Ramallah’s historic center, which lost approximately 50% of its historic buildings and spaces since the 1930s.
The manual presents a detailed analysis of the morphology of the historic fabric comprised of neighborhoods (harat), buildings, and public and private spaces, and explores the social, economic, and political changes of the area from the beginning of the nineteenth century through today. It also provides a classification of the building typologies and architectural elements of its historic buildings, and introduces the principles of conservation, restoration and construction inside the historic center.
The publication is a primary outcome of a project entitled “Development Instrument: Capacity Building for the Protection and Management of Historic Cities,” which was implemented by the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem (CCHP), in partnership with Rehabimed, RIWAQ, and Cultech, in cooperation with the municipal councils of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Greater As-Salt.
To download the manual:
https://www.rehabimed.net/2015/11/rehabilitation-manual-for-ramallah-palestina/
The manual presents a detailed analysis of the morphology of the historic fabric comprised of neighborhoods (harat), buildings, and public and private spaces, and explores the social, economic, and political changes of the area from the beginning of the nineteenth century through today. It also provides a classification of the building typologies and architectural elements of its historic buildings, and introduces the principles of conservation, restoration and construction inside the historic center.
The publication is a primary outcome of a project entitled “Development Instrument: Capacity Building for the Protection and Management of Historic Cities,” which was implemented by the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem (CCHP), in partnership with Rehabimed, RIWAQ, and Cultech, in cooperation with the municipal councils of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Greater As-Salt.
To download the manual:
https://www.rehabimed.net/2015/11/rehabilitation-manual-for-ramallah-palestina/