Dr Irit Katz Architect (AEAI), BArch, MA, PhD (Cantab) is an architect and theorist who studies the dynamic cultural, social and political relations between the built environment and the changing human condition. She is particularly interested in the processes through which human environments are formed and reshaped in extreme situations such as forced displacement and in the role public spaces of everyday life play in mediating social and cultural diversity. Her research examines these environments as ever-changing spatial constellations through which political negotiations and cultural transformations are staged and reworked. Currently she studies urban spaces of human mobility and refuge in different cities across the globe. Her recent work includes a research project on the central role of camps in shaping populations, territories, and urban areas in Israel-Palestine and beyond over the last century.
Irit joined Cambridge's Department of Architecture as a University Lecturer and Christ's College in 2020. Prior to these appointments she held academic position at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House, the LSE Cities Programme, and the University of Sheffield's School of Architecture and Urban Institute. She holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge, MA (Magna Cum Laude) in Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies and a B.Arch (Cum Laude) in Architecture. Her career as a practicing architect in Tel Aviv and in London includes work on urban design projects and large scale housing schemes.
