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Dr. Irit Katz is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Cambridge, specializing in built environments shaped by displacement, conflict, and spatial injustice. She is the author of The Common Camp and co-founder of UNFOLD, Cambridge’s decolonizing architecture group
Dr Irit Katz is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at the University of Cambridge, holding a Fellowship at Christ’s College. Her highly specialized and critically acclaimed work focuses on the architecture and urbanism of environments shaped by extreme conditions, specifically those involving displacement, conflict, spatial injustice, and environmental change. Drawing on her background as a practicing architect and a scholar of cultural and political theories, she employs spatial ethnography, visual methods, and policy analysis to examine how political negotiations and cultural transformations are staged within human settlements from formal cities to makeshift camps.
A key focus of her research is the camp refugee, migrant, or detention which she analyzes as a versatile mechanism of modern societal administration and resistance. Her work has received significant recognition, including the RIBA President’s Award for Research and the John Urry Article Prize. She is the author of the critically acclaimed monograph, The Common Camp: Architecture of Power and Resistance in Israel-Palestine (2022), and is also a driving force behind UNFOLD, Cambridge’s decolonizing architecture group, underscoring her commitment to inclusive and just spatial practices.
Biography
Dr. Irit Katz is an architect (AEAI) and an academic leader in critical urban studies. She graduated with a B.Arch (Cum Laude) from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, and holds an MA in Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies (Magna Cum Laude), followed by a PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge. As a practicing architect in Tel Aviv and London, she contributed to significant social housing projects, including the Peabody Avenue social housing in Pimlico, London, before transitioning fully to academia.
Since moving into her academic role, Dr. Katz’s focus has been on built environments of political tension and exclusion. Her research methodologies are deeply interdisciplinary, incorporating archival research, political philosophy, and spatial ethnography. She currently serves as the Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies, and is the Director of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design and MArch Programmes. Beyond her scholarly pursuits, she is a published poet (three collections in Hebrew) and an avid long-distance runner, embodying a commitment to both intellectual and physical endurance.
Core Profile Details
Contact and Availability
Research and Expertise
Dr. Katz’s expertise lies in the critical examination of “spaces of exception” built environments where political and social norms are suspended or radically altered. Her research illuminates the intersection of political power, critical theory, and the material realities of architecture.
Key Research Areas
- Spaces of Conflict, Displacement, and Refuge: Including migration, climate mobilities, and diaspora homes.
- The Architecture of Camps: Comprehensive study of refugee camps, migrant camps, detention camps, and protest camps, as detailed in her monograph, The Common Camp.
- Spatial Injustice and Exclusion: Research into the socio-political dynamics of transnational and urban borderscapes and spaces of exclusion.
- Critical Theories and Architecture: Engagement with urban critical theories, feminist theories, post/decolonial theories, and political philosophy.
- Ephemeral Architecture: Focusing on temporary human environments and participatory architecture in contexts of radical transformation.
Supervision and Teaching
Dr. Katz welcomes PhD applications from students interested in any of the topics listed above, particularly those using spatial ethnography, critical theory, and visual methods to analyze spaces of conflict and social transformation.
Teaching Responsibilities
Associated Funding and Opportunities
Dr. Katz’s work is internationally recognized, leading to major awards and key collaborations:
- Major Awards: RIBA President’s Award for Research, Mellon/SAH Author Award, and the John Urry Article Prize.
- Key Publications: Monograph The Common Camp: Architecture of Power and Resistance in Israel-Palestine (University of Minnesota Press, 2022).
- Collaborative Initiative: Co-founder of UNFOLD, a critical decolonizing architecture group at Cambridge.
Key Publications
Publications are selected for impact and relevance, listed in descending order by year:
- 2022: Katz, I. The Common Camp: Architecture of Power and Resistance in Israel-Palestine. University of Minnesota Press. (Monograph)
- 2018 (Co-Editor): Katz, I., Minca, C., & Martin, D. (eds). Camps Revisited: Multifaceted Spatialities of a Modern Political Technology. Rowman & Littlefield. (Co-edited Volume)
- Journal Articles: Work published in leading journals including Antipode, Mobilities, Progress in Human Geography, City, Political Geography, The Journal of Architecture, and Public Culture.
