Ammar Azzouz

Ammar Azzouz serves as a Research Fellow at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, and holds a concurrent Research Fellowship at Somerville College. As Principal Investigator of the Slow Violence and the City project, he investigates long-term impacts of conflict on urban environments during war and peace.

His educational background includes:

• Architecture studies in Homs, Syria
• PhD from the University of Bath

His research critically examines how built environments become battlegrounds through slow violence, exploring weaponized architecture, cultural heritage destruction, and community-centered reconstruction. With deep personal connection to Syria's devastation, his work bridges architecture, geography, and political science to analyze forced migration and diaspora experiences.

Scholarly output centers on Syria's urban trauma, notably his 2023 monograph Domicide, which establishes architectural complicity in war and advocates for locally-driven rebuilding. His interdisciplinary approach draws comparative insights from global conflicts including Bosnia, Spain, and Poland.

Key recognition includes:

• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship

He has secured research funding as Principal Investigator for Slow Violence and the City and previously led Arup projects interviewing displaced communities across conflict zones. His work emphasizes collaborative engagement with affected populations rather than formal student supervision.

Though not lab-based, his research integrates fieldwork with Syrian diaspora communities in the UK and historical analysis of urban conflict worldwide, positioning architecture as both casualty and weapon in modern warfare.