Leading institution: HEAD – Genève

Project leader: Leonid Slonimskiy

Project team: Leonid Slonimskiy, Gili Merin, Valentina De Luigi

Financing: HES-SO RCDAV

Co-financing: HEAD – Genève (HES-SO)

Exhibition: FORCED REUSE: Rethinking Conventions Through Crisis

January 14 2025, fondation Clarté, Immeuble Clarté, Geneva, Switzerland

May 2025, Dropcity: Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, 60, 20125 Milan, Italy

FORCED REUSE is a research project investigating the phenomenon of adaptive reuse within architecture and interior architecture, focusing specifically on instances of forced reuse driven by acute community needs, and conducted by users, independently from architects and designers. Examples include the adaptive reuse of churches in the Soviet Union as stables, storage facilities, or swimming pools due to religious prohibitions, as well as the transformation of cooperative garages in East Germany into leisure, commerce, and cultural spaces amidst economic crises.

The research project builds upon existing research and initiatives centered on the theme of “reuse.” In contrast to conventional “sustainable” practices driven by environmental concerns or adaptive reuse for historical preservation, this research explores instances where reuse is motivated by scarcity and practicality. The research project will analyze and classify case studies from diverse geographical and historical contexts, highlighting examples that are both innovative and largely overlooked in current research. Deliverables will include an exhibition and publication aimed at informing architects, designers, construction companies, and developers about the potential for responsible resource management through forced reuse practices.

The project was exhibited in Geneva on January 14, 2025, and will be shown in Milan during the Salone del Mobile 2025. The exhibition includes various research cases represented by 3D models and drawings, full-scale prototypes, as well as images taken by professional and non-professional photographers, as well as users involved in the different case studies. The exhibitions will be followed by a publication scheduled for mid-2025.