Lecture Series Fine Arts – Ashkan Cheheltan/Forensic Architecture

Racist Terror Attack in Hanau: The Police Operation 

Forensic Architecture (FA), and its Berlin-based sister agency, Forensis, were commissioned by the victims’ families and the Initiative 19. Februar Hanau, to investigate a range of questions regarding the role of the police and the role of the father that night.

To do this, FA/Forensis worked with acoustic engineers (Anderson Acoustics) in order to conduct a sound experiment that would recreate the gunshot sound in order to examine the father’s testimony, as well as whether, and where, police would have heard the shots. We also examined hundreds of documents from the case files, including statements by witnesses and police, as well as analysed the main visual source of information about the police actions that night.

 

German Colonial Genocide in Namibia: Shark Island

Forensis and Forensic Architecture (FA) have worked with the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) and the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) and the Centre of Archaeology at Staffordshire University (CoA) to study sites related to the 1904–1908 genocide perpetrated against the Ovaherero and Nama by the German Colonial Army.

As part of its overall research, the Forensis/FA team analysed available cartographic and photographic evidence, conducted fieldwork and solicited testimonies related to the concentration camp in Shark Island, Lüderitz, between 1905–1908.

 

Bio

Ashkan Cheheltan is an architect, computational designer and researcher. He holds a BA and MA from Berlin University of Arts.His research investigates how tacit knowledge and intrinsic methodologies of architects and designers could be applied to other disciplines, creating experimental hybrid practices.

 

https://forensic-architecture.org/about/team/member/ashkan-cheheltan