Talks
The Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) and art centre Het Bos host three evenings on the environmental dimensions of genocide. We explore why and how genocidal violence targets not just people but also their landscapes, homes and cities. On the second evening, Amna Dehelia and Merve Bedir reflect on domicide: the destruction of homes and the sense of belonging — and how to reclaim it.
Over the course of one month, together with moderator Janno Martens, we engage in dialogue with five guests, share food, and watch video work by international artists.
The second evening of the -cide series is a conversation between Amna Dehelia and Merve Bedir.
After obtaining her degree in Architecture at Birzeit University on the Palestinian West Bank, Amna recently graduated KU Leuven’s Advanced Master of Human Settlements with a thesis on home making in the Nur Shams refugee camp.
Merve is an architect who works with infrastructures of hospitality and mobility. Her recent design projects include a high-tech farm in Ningde (China), Postane repair project in Istanbul, and an industrial kitchen in the aftermath of the 2023 earthquakes in Gaziantep (Turkey).
Together with the audience, Merve and Amna will reflect on how practices of home-making and hospitality can re-establish security and domesticity during and after displacement and destruction.
Amna Dehelia is a Palestinian architect, researcher, and lecturer whose work focuses on home-making, displacement, and spatial violence in Palestinian refugee camps. She previously served as a lecturer in the Architectural Engineering Department at Palestine Technical University. She holds an Advanced Master’s degree in Human Settlements from KU Leuven and is currently preparing to begin her doctoral studies there. Her research engages critical architectural theory, refugee studies, and the politics of space, examining how space operates as a key medium through which political and identity struggles are produced, contested, and reconfigured.
Merve Bedir practices architecture and landscape design as expanded infrastructures of hospitality and mobility. A path of her work refers to the collective intelligences and imaginaries of the landscape. Merve is the co-founder of Aformal Academy in Shenzhen, and founding member of Kitchen Workshop in Gaziantep and Center for Spatial Justice in Istanbul. She has a PhD from Delft University of Technology, and a BArch from Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Merve has taught in Hong Kong University, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and Columbia GSAPP. Her work was reviewed in The Guardian, Avery Review, and Frieze Magazine. She has taken part in Istanbul Design Biennale (several editions), Urbanism and Architecture Biennale Shenzhen (several editions), Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale (2017), Venice Architecture Biennale (2021); and most recently exhibited in BAK Utrecht (2023), Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (2023), and Salt Istanbul (2025). Recent publications include Infrastructure and Repair (Afterall Magazine, and Canadian Center for Architecture).
Between 18:00h and 20:00h, the Boskeuken serves food prepared by chef Nour, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon.
“Every dish I prepare carries a part of my identity and the culture I come from. Through my food, I hope to share a taste of our history — a history rich with warmth, stories, and delicious recipes passed down through generations. Cooking allows me to honour where I come from and invite others to truly feel and understand the beauty of our heritage.” - chef Nour
The evening will also feature a short video work selected from TICK TACK's Palestine Public Cinema programme, curated by Zayna Al-Saleh
18:00h - 20:00h: the Boskeuken serves Chef Nour's dishes
20:00h - 20:10h: Introduction and video TICK TACK’s Palestine Public Cinema
20:10h - end: Janno Martens in conversation with Amna Dehelia and Merve Bedir reflect on domicide.
Het Bos
Ankerrui 5-7
2000 Antwerp
The -cide talks will be presented in English.
Free of admission, registration is required.
Book your ticket(s) via the online registration form.
Check all -cides series dates:
05.02.2026 - ecocide
19.02.2026 - domicide
05.03.2026 - urbicide
Boskeuken’s dishes can be paid for on site (card only, no cash). Meals are served while supplies last, and advance reservations are not available.
Flanders Architecture Institute and Het Bos
the Government of Flanders
