Student Lecture Series | Lobna Sana: Envisioning self-organization

How do we organize? How do we facilitate writing and conversation as a means to collective existence? How can dialogical and speculative approaches to inquiry inform our understanding of spatial stewardship and gathering? What is the intersection between futurity and social action, and how can these forces shape future civic structures?

This exploration of natural human self-organization will take two parts: an initial lecture detailing a historical and theoretical framework, followed by a public workshop. The workshop will focus on the collective creation of a fictional institution towards the development of a dialogical approach to thinking and creation across geographical and spatial conditions. Aligning with the overarching goal of building bridges between disciplines, communities, and society at large, this workshop will integrate interdisciplinary tools and methods – such as writing, architectural and spatial thinking, archival study, and roundtable discussion – in order to confront crises of our time.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Jayne Miller.

The guiding questions framing this investigation into the dynamics of human self-organization will emphasize the workshop’s dialectical nature. Methodologically, this approach focuses on open spatial inquiry – examining architecture ‘backwards’ to uncover how its forms of demarcation and delineation contribute to socio-cultural division. From this understanding, the goal is to explore how to reimagine these structures, shifting from separation to creating spaces for assembly and gathering within the existing framework (i.e. a fictional institution). The workshop will utilize collaborative writing, book-making, and conversation as a generative force in building the beginning of these more inclusive and resilient futures.

In allowing participants to experiment with the kind of speculative and forward thinking that FUTURES encourages, the aim of this collective exercise is to foster a deeper understanding of the potentials and limitations of collaborative action in the face of contemporary challenges.

Lobna Sana is an architect from the Al-Laqiya Bedouin village in the Naqab desert region. She is an active architect in the unrecognized Bedouin villages of Beer Sheba, striving to introduce innovative building methodologies to improve people's lives while documenting these villages due to the constant threat of destruction. She holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, where she was awarded the Azrieli Prize in Architecture in 2022.

Currently, Sana plays a leading role at the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev (RCUV), where she develops innovative local mapping methodologies and architectural solutions. Her ongoing projects include mapping the unrecognized villages from a local perspective and developing indigenous building techniques.

Sana is a key author and collaborator in the VR film Remember This Place, which captures the narratives of Bedouin communities, their homes, and the challenges they face in the Naqab. Her research advocates for the unrecognized villages in the Naqab, shaping architectural discourse and recording societal narratives. Sana has been featured at La Biennale di Venezia (Italy, 2023), Brief Histories (New York, 2023), Sheffield DocFest (England, 2024), and FIPADOC: International Documentary Festival (France, 2024). She has spoken at the Queen Mary University of London and Darat al Funun - The Khalid Shoman Foundation in Jordan.