Studio led by Leonid Slonimskiy (KOSMOS)

Assisted by Paule Perron (minor architects) & Pablo Brenas

What should we do with these huge, mass tourism cruise ships once they are no longer in use and thus turn to waste? Could they be considered as a new source of materials or help solve the housing crisis? In the face of contemporary political, environmental and social crises, “et vogue le navire…” takes a stand on the responsibility of interior designers in the finitude of resources while questioning the unequal accessibility to accommodation in a world that is flooded with refugees. This studio sketches out a spatial project, both tangible and intangible, of temporary habitats, adaptable to individuals, their identities and their diverse needs.

Maritime waste, and particularly the hulks of cruise ships, represents one of the greatest ecological threats of our time. Our aim was therefore to reuse them in our contemporary Western cities, taking European port cities as a case study. Their derelict structures, very difficult to treat as waste, were thus rehabilitated to accommodate refugee housing units and meeting spaces.

At the heart of the ship, the domestic space welcomed residents hailing from multiple identities and cultures. The architectural languages, but also the aesthetic codes and norms of Western housing were studied to allow them to be questioned. The ways of life that they produce and reproduce were thus continually challenged through the definition of interiors specific to the individuals hosted.