Project developed at HEAD — Genève and conducted by KOSMOS Architects, Valentina De Luigi and Gili Merin

Research core team: Leonid Slonimskiy, Artem Kitaev, Gili Merin, Valentina De Luigi

Research team: Janna Aleksanyan, Alex Alyaev, Cuadrado Laure, Natasha Krymskaya, Kristina Kramarenko, Melina Meyer, Dmitrii Prikhodko, Manuel Rossi, Kateryna Shushynska

Research contributors: Anadis González, Asif Salman, Blanca Garcia Gardelegui, Suzan Abu Kosh, Damir Faizulin, Patcharada Inplang, Ernesto Oroza, Malkit Shoshan, Grigoriy Sokolinskiy, Mitul Desai, Robert Heckmann

HEAD – Genève students: Biache Aurore, Crettiez Mathis, Cuadrado Laure, Dupraz Ian, Gidi Mireille, Giraud Hippolyte, Hemidi Stéphanie, Negro Luca, Sushynska Kateryna, Théophile Matton, Trouvin Marie, Tshala Noemi, Verrillo Matteo

Dean of the Department of Space Design / Interior Architecture: Javier Fernández Contreras

Head of IRAD, the research institute at HEAD — Genève: Anthony Masure

Financing: HES-SO RCDAV; Co-financing: HEAD – Genève (HES-SO)

The exhibition of the “FORCED REUSE” research at Dropcity in Milan was the result of a two-year study investigating adaptive reuse driven by urgent community needs and carried out by users independently of architects and designers. The project explores the motivations behind non-professional reuse of building elements and spaces, focusing on the circumstances that compel communities to rethink conventional building practices in regions where necessity overrides formal systems — where people are, quite literally, forced to reuse.

Examples include a refugee shelter made from old oil containers, a house built with used car tires, an old bus repurposed as a countryside barn, a bridge constructed from a train wagon, a war bunker transformed into a car repair shop, and a cooperative garage converted into an improvised gym. These structures are created not from conventional building materials but from scarcity and excess — what is commonly considered “waste.” They embody practical intelligence, ingenuity, and aesthetic appeal, making them inherently ecological.

The exhibition ran for five weeks, beginning November 1st, with a publication of the research findings planned for next year.

The exhibition scenography is a 1:1 replica of the case study FO012, in which a greenhouse was repurposed as a human shelter after the earthquake in Japan. The design follows a zero-waste approach: after the exhibition, the greenhouse was reused for agricultural purposes in the Venice region, and the tires were returned to storage.

The research was conducted by KOSMOS Architects, HEAD — Genève, and Gili Merin.