Dr Yazid Khemri

Lecturer in Architecture

Email:: yazid.khemri@bcu.ac.uk
Phone:: +44 (0) 1213315134

Dr Yazid Khemri has been involved in practice, research and teaching of Architecture for a decade. Yazid was awarded a PhD in Architecture by the University of Portsmouth, where he was also teaching across Design Studio, Technology and History and Theory. He holds an Architect diploma and an MSc in Architecture and Sustainable Environment.

Trained as an architect and urban designer, Yazid has a particular interest in sustainability as a driver for the design process, and relies on teaching approaches that advocate for learning through making and testing. He has been teaching various modules and leading design studios in architecture with a keen interest in urbanism and climate-sensitive design.

Yazid has a strong passion for research into sustainable architecture and cities. He is currently focusing on urban social sustainability and community resilience, with a particular emphasis on topics related to urban life.
Previous research includes an ethnographic study of social life in neighbourhoods of Algiers, consolidating his interest in liveliness of public spaces, and arguing that studying people’s behaviour to understand their needs and aspirations is the key to design socio-culturally responsive urban environments.

In 2021, he collaborated with the curator Alessandro Melis for the Italian pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, and he is the artistic director supervising the participation of Birmingham City University in a collateral event as part of La Biennale di Venezia 2023.

Areas of Expertise

Qualifications

Teaching

Research

Postgraduate Supervision

Publications

Khemri, M, Y. (2025) (forthcoming). The interplay between Exaptation and Urban Life: Redundancy and informality in El Houma. In Melis, A., Lara-Hernandez, A, Boarin, P, & Besen, P. (Eds). The Dusk of Design. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/9783031768668

Khemri, M, Y. (2025) (forthcoming). Public art for a better aura in urban spaces. In Melis, A. Vavetsi, R & Chisty, A (Eds). Design for Performative Arts Spaces - Historical Evolution, Cultural Context, and Future Opportunities. Springer.

Khemri, M, Y. (2024). Urban Oasis; the arena of urban life Students as researchers: Creative Practice and University Education. Venice Biennale Catalogue

Khemri, M, Y., & Melis, A. (2022). Algiers as a Paradigmatic Mediterranean City: El Houma as a Measure of Urban Life. disP - The Planning Review, 58:2, 16-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/02513625.2022.2123162

Khemri, M, Y., and Melis, A. (2021). Achieving community resilience through informal urban practices: the case of El Houma in Algiers. In A. Di Raimo, S. Lehmann, & A. Melis (Eds.), Informality Now: Informal Settlements Through the Lens of Sustainability. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331701-23/achieving-community-resilience-informal-urban-practices-mohamed-yazid-khemri-alessandro-melis

Khemri, M, Y., Caputo, S & Melis, A. (2021). The drawbacks of a global concept of sustainable neighbourhood in developing countries. In Mohareb, N., Versaci, A., Mahgoub, Y., Maruthaveeran, S., Alberti, F., (ed). Cities’ Vocabularies: The Influences and Formations. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51961-2_16

Khemri, M, Y. (2021). Three neighbourhoods in Algiers. In Barton, H., Grant, M., & Guise, R. (3^rd ed). Shaping Neighbourhoods: For Local Health and Global Sustainability. Routledge.

Lara Hernandez, J. A., Khemri, M. Y., & Melis, A. (2021). Understanding temporary appropriation and the streetscape design: the case of Algiers, Auckland and Mexico City. In A. Di Raimo, S. Lehmann, & A. Melis (Eds.), Informality Now: Informal Settlements Through the Lens of Sustainability. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331701-19/understanding-temporary-appropriation-streetscape-design-antonio-lara-hernandez-yazid-khemri-alessandro-melis?context=ubx&refId=81f71a22-8ffb-4bcd-8e11-4a7e7fca81e4

Forester, B., Lara Hernandez, J. A., Khemri, M. Y., & Melis, A. (2021). Shifting the threshold of public space in UK and Algeria during Covid-19 Pandemic. The Journal of Public Space. Available through: https://www.journalpublicspace.org/index.php/jps/article/view/1387/802

Khemri, M, Y. (2021). Solidarity and sense of belonging to sustain resilient communities in Algiers. Architectural Exaptation. Catalogue of the Italian Pavilion “Resilient Communities” at the 2021 Architecture Biennale, Vol 1a. D Editore.

Khemri, M. Y., Melis, A., & Caputo, S. (2020). Sustaining the liveliness of public spaces in El Houma through placemaking: the case of Algiers. The Journal of Public Space, 5(1), 129-152. Available through: https://www.journalpublicspace.org/index.php/jps/article/view/1254

Khemri, M, Y. (2020). Features of resilient neighbourhoods in the Mediterranean area. Largo Duomo. Vol4. Pp 132-145. Available through: https://issuu.com/oappc_li/docs/largo_duomo_n_4