News

June 2024WIRED: War Crime Prosecutions Enter a New Digital Age

A custom platform created by SITU Research aided the International Criminal Court to prosecute a war crimes case for the first time. It could change how justice is enacted on an international scale.

March 2024Centro Prodh and SITU release "The Death Flights," a visual investigation documenting a clandestine program of enforced disappearances carried out by the Mexican military during the so-called "Dirty War" of the 1970s and 80s

SITU Research and the Mexican human rights organization, Centro Prodh, release a new visual investigation recounting one of the most clandestine programs of the so-called "Dirty War" era.

February 2024Human Rights Watch, Truth Hounds and SITU release “Ukraine: New Findings on Russia's Devastation of Mariupol,” A War Crimes Inquiry Needed into Massive Loss of Civilian Life, Infrastructure

The report is based on 240 interviews with mostly displaced Mariupol residents and an analysis of over 850 photos and videos, documents, and dozens of satellite images. The digital multimedia feature includes 3D reconstructions of seven buildings damaged in apparently unlawful attacks, graphics on damaged schools and hospitals, and an analysis of grave sites to help estimate the death toll.

July 2023Protesters win record $13 million-plus settlement reached over New York City Police Department’s misconduct during summer 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations

Videos produced during discovery show that NYPD misconduct during the BLM movement of 2020 were widespread and pervasive.

February 2023SITU Research and Human Rights Watch release new investigation, “Death at the Station: Russian Cluster Munition Attack in Kramatorsk”

On February 21, 2023, SITU and Human Rights Watch released a report and video analyzing a Russian Cluster Munition Attack on the Kramatorsk Train Station in Eastern Ukraine.

September 2021Université libre de Bruxelles features SITU in a new architectural publication

Our firm’s multidisciplinary workflow is the subject of a case study featured in a Belgian publication titled ‘Thinking-Making. When Architects Engage in Construction’. The book explores methods of practice that challenge the division between design and construction.

January 2021Human Rights Watch — “NY Attorney General Sues Police for Violence Against Protesters”

NYS Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the NYPD for their “excessive, brutal, and unlawful force against peaceful protesters”. The lawsuit cited the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in the South Bronx, which SITU Research investigated with Human Rights Watch in a video analysis published last September.

December 2020The Oregonian/OregonLive — “Judge finds city of Portland in contempt of order restricting less-lethal impact munitions during protests”

The Oregon District Court rules in favor of Don’t Shoot Portland (DSP) and protesters, finding that the Portland Police Bureau violated a temporary restraining order when using less-lethal weapons against a Black Lives Matter protest on June 30, 2020. SITU Research developed an event reconstruction of individual incidents of police violence for Don’t Shoot Portland’s testimony in court.

October 2020The Intercept — “Portland Reckons with Police Attacks on Protesters After Months of Unrest”

The Intercept covers SITU Research’s visual investigation of the Portland Police Bureau’s violent repression of a Black Lives Matter protest on June 30. This work was presented in the U.S. District Court in a case filed by Don’t Shoot Portland.

July 2020Streetsblog—“Designing ‘Streets For Protest’ Won’t Work Because of Cops”

Streetsblog offers criticism on using design to address protester safety concerns, noting how this logic omits the responsibility of the police enacting violence. The article draws on our latest project with Amnesty International, which unpacks some of the ways in which urban environments can become “weaponized” in conjunction with the use of tear gas.

June 2020TimeOut New York — "See these new neighborhood testing centers proposed by a Brooklyn design studio”

TimeOut New York features our strategies for increasing access to COVID-19 testing around the city.

June 2020The Architect’s Newspaper — “SITU Research teams with Amnesty International for video primer on tear gas”

The Architect’s Newspaper features new work from SITU Research for Amnesty International, which documents the abuse of tear gas worldwide and examines the dangers of this “less lethal” weapon.

April 2020The Cooper Union — “Alumni retool studios to produce personal protective equipment”

The Cooper Union includes our Patient Screening Booths in their roundup of alumnae designing tools for COVID-19 relief.

July 2019officeinsight — "Three-pronged Accomplishments at SITU"

officeinsight spotlights SITU and our cross-divisional work in their July issue.

February 2019SITU Research work for the Rohingya crisis featured as one of Mapbox’s favorite community maps of 2018

Mapbox showcases our interactive platform for the Rohingya crisis as one of their favorite community maps of 2018.

June 2018Architect’s Newspaper — "SITU Research and Amnesty International’s new interactive platform maps atrocities in Myanmar"

Architect’s Newspaper published an article about SITU and Amnesty International’s new interactive platform.

June 2018Mapbox — "Mapping human rights abuse: Amnesty International and SITU Research show the atrocities against Rohingya in Myanmar"

Mapbox published an interview with the SITU Research team about the platform that maps atrocities against Rohingya and turns a massive catalog of evidence into a poignant and striking interactive platform.

May 2018The New York Times Magazine — "Who Killed the Kiev Protesters? A 3-D Model Holds the Clues"

The New York Times published an investigative article on our reconstruction of events during Ukraine's Euromaidan protests.

November 2016The Architect's Newspaper — "SITU Research’s online platform details war crimes in Sudan conflict"

AN delves into our work with Amnesty International.

October 2016SITU wins the Center for Architecture's First Annual Pumpkitecture Contest

Our "concrete pumpkin void" earned a "Pritzker Pumpkin" from the AIANY.

October 2016AIA — "Architects, designers thrive in Shark Tank-like competition"

The AIA reports on SITU Research competing at SXSWEco with our Spatial Practice for Evidence and Advocacy initiative.

August 2016WIRED — "The Hague Convicts a Tomb-Destroying Extremist With Smart Design"

The publication explores SITU's work to leverage smart design in legal and advocacy contexts.

August 2016Artforum — "Defendant Pleads Guilty in First Cultural Destruction Trial at The Hague"

Artforum covers our collaboration with the International Criminal Court as it conducts its first ever trial on the destruction of cultural heritage.

July 2016The Real Deal — "New maps visualize disparity between assessed and market property values along Central Park"

This piece unpacks Section 581, our research project that visualizes how antiquated property tax codes contribute to inequity across Manhattan.

July 2016CityLab — "An Art Installation Visualizes the Boggling Tax Disparities Along Central Park"

CityLab covers our Section 581 project that renders visible the inequity of NYC property taxes.