Architecture, Violence, Evidence

Abstract

Architect Eyal Weizman and historian Andrew Herscher discuss their research on architecture as a target of political violence and the consequent interpretation(s) of architectural destruction in international law. The act of destruction fundamentally transforms the meaning of a building, and often architecture only acquires significance at the very moment of its destruction. Their discussion reveals the complexity of meaning surrounding architecture as both victim and witness, and challenges the too-frequent assumption that buildings only ever serve as static symbols of identity.