Since 2018, Open Architecture Collaborative has made a commitment to racial justice in the built environment, guided by community engagement practices and restorative justice principles. We strive to build awareness of the complicity of our professions in designing systems of injustice, both domestically and globally. And to hold space for discussions that highlight underrepresented experiences and stories.

Over the past year, as Palestinians entered their 75th year of living under Israeli occupation, our community engaged in generative conversations and actions about what it means to decolonize. In November 2023, two of our members, a Palestinian-Egyptian American and Jewish American, facilitated discussions on personal relationships to land and ancestry. These intimate gatherings offered space for human connection in the face of trauma and violence.

From our 2023-2024 Equity in Practice Fellowship emerged the collective, Daarna: This is Home. This traveling teach-in project captures the architectural and ethnographic history of Palestinian homes, while inviting participants to explore personal memories of comfort, safety and belonging. It shares the human impact of Israeli apartheid architecture, planning, and policy, and connects to unjust built environment practices in the U.S.

Moving forward, we commit to going deeper with OAC’s network, staff, and board to design programming that cultivates a just and liberated built environment for all. To stay connected, subscribe to our newsletter and socials for future engagement opportunities. And join us as we stand with Palestine, Congo, Lebanon, Sudan, Puerto Rico, neighborhoods across the U.S., and oppressed people across the globe striving for dignity and liberation.

Learn more about:

• OAC’s partnership with Daarna

• Daarna’s professional partnership principles for architects, planners, and designers of the built environment (OAC is a signatory)

• Explore related learning resources

This statement was prepared after many conversations and contributions of our OAC community members of diverse backgrounds. It does not take the place of ongoing engaged conversations, and cannot express the nuances and sentiments many of us feel and experience.