A Course Integrated Architectural Design and Urban Planning Framework for the Rebuilding of Gaza.

UN-Habitat data suggests that around 62–70% of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, affecting about 290,000 housing units and leaving over a million people without homes amid what has been described as “urbicide” through widespread loss of civic infrastructure. The IAAU proposal frames a pedagogical architecture and urban planning initiative as a core vehicle for student learning and research. Funding will support: (1) a faculty-led design and planning studio engaging IAAU graduate students to respond to Gaza’s environmental conditions, aligned with HBKU’s focus on Sustainable and Resilient Arid Cities; (2) development of architectural and urban strategies addressing both urgent reconstruction needs and long-term resilience and recovery, aligned with Sustainability, Environmental Protection and Restoration; and (3) critical engagement with Islamic urban and legal theory (e.g., Ibn al-Rami) to strengthen a key course learning outcome on ethnographic, archival, observational, and data-driven analysis. Beginning spring 2026, courses will center on “Rebuilding Gaza,” culminating in publishable outputs including a monograph and exhibition, translating humanitarian needs into resilient, implementable urban proposals.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)