Forensic Architecture named a Right Livelihood Award 2024 laureate

Eyal Weizman spoke yesterday to accept the 2024 Right Livelihood Award on behalf of Forensic Architecture, saying it was the one accolade he wanted the Goldsmiths, University of London-based research group to obtain in times defined by brutal conflict in different countries. 

He and his colleagues were honored by the jury for an inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy and hundreds others that used "pioneering digital forensic methods to ensure justice and accountability for victims and survivors of human and environmental rights violations."

Weizman continued by thanking his friend Issa Amro, the founder of the Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements (YAS) and one of the three other 2024 laureates named by the Award’s jury.

The Award’s executive director Ole von Uexkull lended his support in saying: "Forensic Architecture is redefining truth-telling in a post-truth era, bringing a crucial new layer of oversight to international accountability. Their innovative work has been instrumental in uncovering decisive evidence for landmark human rights cases, ensuring that powerful actors are held accountable. In a time when misinformation thrives, Forensic Architecture’s efforts are vital in upholding justice and transparency on the global stage."

Their work has recently delved into potential war crimes in the Gaza Strip after winning the prestigious RIBA Charles Jencks Award in 2022. The group was founded in 2010. Weizman has said previously that the meaning of its name refers to the process of using forensic data as a means of "reading architectural facts, architectural material, architectural situations, in order to see within them evidence for these violations that I'm speaking about."

The other Right Livelihood Award laureates for 2024 were Amro, Joan Carling (Philippines), and Anabela Lemos of Justiça Ambiental! (Mozambique).