OpenVL
What remains
when a village
disappears?
Documenting, reconstructing and sharing Palestinian architectural heritage.
The loss is ongoing
Recording a place while its architecture still exists.
Learning to document
what remained
Lifta, Jerusalem
300 m² recorded using LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry.
We learned the methods and developed the workflow.
Surveyors, engineers and architectural offices helped with free scanning services.
Early-project account, 2024
Laser measurements and overlapping photographs
Align, optimise and preserve spatial data
Share models and site resources
Support research and protection
A public
digital archive
3D records and site resources for people to explore, study and reuse.
Recorded viewer demonstration / 2024
View digital archive ↗Opens Nira in a new tab. Internet and login may be required.
Sheikh Mwanis
Some villages
could no longer
be scanned
Vanished buildings needed a different approach: gathering scattered records and reconstructing architecture through research.
Historical evidence and people’s memories expanded the documentation work.
Reconstructing
through evidence
Sheikh Mwanis
A reconstruction depends on the sources behind it.
Maps
Location and spatial relationships
Photographs & documents
Architectural detail and change over time
Oral histories
People, place names and lived experience
Evidence varies by detail. Gaps remain part of the research.
Galleries, universities
and classrooms
Outreach from north to south, including Umm al-Fahm, Arraba and Kawkab Abu Elhija.
Models, archival displays and digital experiences gave people different ways into the research.
08London / 8 May 2025
Palestinian places
at FRAMELESS
360° documentation of ten heritage sites surrounded gala guests with Palestinian places.
The content supported the Asfari Foundation fundraising gala, in collaboration with the Palestinian Museum.
An immersive use of the archive, shared at the scale of the room.
Visualising Saffuriya
People from Saffuriya approached us to research and reconstruct their village.
of architectural research
and reconstruction
Historical maps and photographs, documents and recorded memories informed the reconstruction.
A village model
and a lasting record
The same research supports spatial exploration and detailed reading.
Digital reconstruction, physical model and publication carry the research beyond a single encounter.
11Saffuriya in Nazareth
Belqees Gallery, Nazareth Old Market / 23 May–25 July 2026
Exhibition conversations, public talks and workshops opened the research to wider audiences.
12OpenVL
The next villages
and audiences
Extend the Visualising series and bring the work to more museums and international exhibitions.
Each project starts with evidence,
local knowledge and collaborators.
Where does this work connect
with your interests?
Contact us
Have a question, a place to document, or an idea for collaboration? We’d like to hear from you.
Please include your name and email so we can reply. Phone number is optional.
Palestinian architecture,
documented
and shared
Karim Yehia & Adam Gera
Villages carry more
than buildings
They hold names, memories and everyday life. When places disappear, their records become harder to find.
Our mission
Preserving heritage.
Opening access.
Document and analyse endangered architectural heritage using advanced technologies.
Create an accessible, immersive and secure digital archive that supports education, advocacy and global recognition.
Problem & urgency
The loss
is ongoing
War, occupation, neglect and unchecked development threaten Palestine’s architectural heritage.
of the places we documented
no longer exist physically.
Al-Bassa: a building lost
A documented structure in 2022.
Its remains in 2023.
2022
2023
Emergency documentation
in Gaza
The initiative remotely documented seven historical sites for future investigations.
The Great Mosque of Gaza
A06The beginning
Documenting
what remained
We began by recording heritage sites in 3D, preserving their shape and detail before more could be lost.
Our mission was to make that record accessible to everyone.
Lifta, Jerusalem
LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry documented 300 m² in high resolution.
Open access
A public
digital archive
3D records and site resources, brought together for people to explore, study and reuse.
Recorded viewer demonstration / 2024
View digital archiveSkills, knowledge
and public access
Reported reach by May 2025.
Our educational work continues.
students reached
through lectures
students trained in photogrammetry
and digital documentation
visitors reached
through local exhibitions
Sharing the methods
Karim Yehia
Bethlehem University
Partners & collaborations
The Palestinian
Museum
Public engagement and immersive cultural experiences.
Columbia Global
Centers, Amman
Research dialogue and regional networks.
Birzeit
University
Academic archive-sharing initiative proposed in 2025.
Recent project collaborations
Asfari Foundation / Al-Zahrawi Association & TRDC / Afifi Group
The people behind the work
Founders and contributors
2025
Karim Yehia
Co-founder
Adam Gera
Co-founder
Shahira Yatim
Archival lead
Nadine Yehia
Budget strategist
Fadi Far
Curatorial lead
Bakir Mawasi
Outreach lead
Thomas Flynn
Digital heritage consultant
Arash Keissami
Technical director
Saffuriya project collaborators
Shaden Hamed Safadi / Raghad Khoury / Dr. Saleh Abboud
Tishreen Gallery
October 2024
Sheikh Mwanis,
in Taybe
The research entered the gallery through architectural models, photographs and a projected reconstruction.
Sheikh Mwanis / Taybe
A public
conversation
A public talk brought the research into conversation, alongside the exhibition and VR experience.
Memory, models
and virtual encounters
Recorded testimony, architectural models and VR offered different ways to engage with Sheikh Mwanis.
Sheikh Mwanis,
in Jaffa
Beit Barakat / February 2025
Architectural models and archival photographs opened the research to conversation.
Heritage in
the classroom
School exhibition / Umm al-Fahm
Students explored heritage through VR, alongside architectural models and archival displays.
Research on campus
At local universities, we shared the research through talks and exhibitions, with models and VR experiences.
Exhibitions close
to home
In schools and villages, we paired architectural models and source images with VR experiences.
Students exploring
the archive
Tablets and VR gave students ways to explore the digital material alongside the physical displays.
FRAMELESS, London / 8 May 2025
A sense of home,
in London
The organisers invited us to surround gala guests with Palestinian places, creating a sense of home through our content.
An Asfari Foundation fundraising gala,
in collaboration with the Palestinian Museum.
Inside the places
we documented
360° documentation of ten heritage sites became a shared experience across the gallery walls.
Immersion in support
of a cause
Our content supported the gala’s fundraising purpose, bringing heritage and Gaza’s present reality into the room.
Visualising
Saffuriya
People from Saffuriya approached us to research and reconstruct their village.
Reading the sources together
Historical mapsSpatial relationships
PhotographsArchitectural detail
DocumentsChange over time
Recorded memoriesPeople and places
The village in
three dimensions
The reconstruction connects individual buildings to the wider landscape. A physical model brings that scale into the exhibition.
A record
to keep
The publication brings photographs, maps and architectural reconstructions into one place.
It carries the work beyond the gallery.
The exhibition
Visualising
Saffuriya,
in Nazareth
Belqees Gallery
Nazareth Old Market
23 May–25 July 2026
Research becomes
a shared encounter
Exhibition conversations, public talks and workshops opened the research to wider audiences.
Open online.
Focused in
a room.
Digital access
People can explore the material wherever they are.
Exhibitions
A curated encounter brings the research to specific audiences, locally and internationally.
What comes next
More villages.
More audiences.
We want to extend the Visualising series and bring the work to more museums and international exhibitions.