The Yalla Project is a collective endeavour working as a network
with individual partners, supporters and affiliate projects and initiatives.
with individual partners, supporters and affiliate projects and initiatives.
Founding partners
|
Abdalrahman Kittana - post-conflict regeneration
Abdalrahman Kittana is an architect born in Nablus on the 1980. He currently joined the academic staff of the department of architectural engineering at Birzeit University. He received his B.Sc. in architectural engineering from Birzeit University and later he obtained his master degree in Architectural Regeneration and Development from Oxford Brookes University (UK). In 2020 he attained his PhD in Engineering Sciences from the KULeuven (BE), with a research on urban resilience and civilian survival in the casbah of Nablus during the 2nd Intifada. His teaching experience includes architectural design, urban regeneration and urban design. His research interests are in the fields of city and war, urban resilience, architectural and urban development, and architectural history and theory. Alessandra Gola - built environment & society Alessandra Gola is an architect and researcher born in Bologna (Italy) in the 1983. Alessandra is currently concluding her PhD in Architecture at KULeuven (BE) with the thesis on the production of spatial domains in the contemporary Palestinian context. She attained her first MA in Architecture from the University of Ferrara (Italy), followed by the Masters of Human Settlements at KULeuven (Belgium). Her work combines professional practice and academic teaching, with her expertise focusing on grounded research and socio-spatial design, collaborating since 2006 with universities and international institutions across Europe and Palestine. Her research interests focus on the relationship between society, the built environment and legal/rights framework, with a particular concern for the experience of displacement within the context of various forms of conflict. Basel Kittana - political history Basel Kittana was born in Nablus in December 1983. After receiving his BA in History of the Arab Region, he is now receiving his MA in Political Sciences with specialization in Studies of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at Birzeit University. Since the early youth Basel has participated actively to grassroots organizations and community mediator, while part of his formation entails also marketing activities and executive business management. |
Team
|
Lara Salous - architect, visual artist
Lara is an architect, obtained her master's degree in Interior Design from the University of Westminster, the UK in 2018. She was awarded the 'First Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Originality' (JILA), from the School of Architecture and Cities at the same university. She combines interior design and architecture for instructing and designing research; currently instructs at Birzeit University, Architecture and Design departments. Beside her theoretical knowledge, Lara gained extensive hands-on experience through the different field visits, interviews and observations pertaining to Palestinian interiors' issues. |
Associates
|
Layla Zibar - architect, researcher
KURDISTAN - BELGIUM Layla Zibar is a Ph.D. researcher in a joint Doctoral agreement between KU Leuven (Belgium) and BTU (Germany). She obtained her Master’s degree (MSc) from Cairo University in Urban Design and Community Development, and her BA in Architectural Engineering from Aleppo University. Layla is Kurdish by origin, and she was born and raised in Syria. She currently lives in Leuven, Belgium. She worked with several INGOs & Design Studios in spatial upgrading and urban interventions in participatory projects for disadvantaged groups. She worked as a project consultant with BORDA in Iraqi Kurdistan, as a Project Coordinator in Egypt with ŒCUMENE STUDIO, and urban designer in CDC, Egypt. Layla enjoys reading political philosophy, Time-space physics, photography and cooking. |
|
Insaf Ben Othmane H. - architect, urban planner & researcher / founder OEcumene Studio
MENA - IRELAND Insaf is the Founder of ŒCUMENE STUDIO ArchitectureforDignity and Co-founder Sharnaqa (right to Play). She is a Tunisian architect, urban development strategist and researcher. Her main research interests revolve around architecture in development, urban resilient projects, empowerment of communities through holistic integrated projects and strategies. Working for over ten years internationally in the area of community development, urban governance and strategic planning, and urban technologies in MENA and Africa led her to initiate several projects ‘Urban Catalyst’ in partnership with local communities and various stakeholders, organizations like UNHCR and Terre Des Hommes and institutions in search of real and effective solutions to urban challenges of this century. Having heterogeneous studies steered her to be aware of the importance of multidisciplinary practice and the influence of sharing knowledge. Parallel to her work she teaches theory of art and architecture, Urban Design, urban resilience, history of architecture and cities and she conducts several design and build workshops that aims to foster sharing knowledge and empowerment of vulnerable groups. She is also the curator of In-situ Community Build Exhibition: Ala-Abouh and ArchitectureForChange: Genius Tempus (Exhibition/Symposium/Workshop) Series. |
Partners
@Home Foundation
|
OEcumene Studio
|
SpaceWalk
|
Karim General Contracting Office
|
Horizon / Palestine Biketrail
|
|
|
