Forced Reuse is a research project investigating the phenomenon of adaptive reuse of objects and spaces driven by acute community needs and conducted by users independently from architects and designers. The project is not limited by geography, economy or scale, but by a drive to uncover the driving force behind non-professional reuse of building elements and spaces and learn from it.

In particular, it is interested in the reasons that push communities to rethink conventional building practices in regions where necessity overrides formal systems; where people are forced to reuse. A refugee shelter made from 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 — these are just a few examples of unique typologies, discovered in the Forced Reuse research.

Structures built not from what is traditionally meant for building, built from scarcity and poverty, and at the same time always smartly reusing something that is in excess, what is conventionally considered “waste”. These structures are crafted with immanent smartness, wit, and beauty, making them inherently ecological.

The research project will be presented in the form of an exhibition during Milano Arch Week (27 October – 2 November 2025), at the Drop City venue.
An opening talk will take place on Saturday, 1 November, at 18:30.

The project is a result of a two-year research project conducted by a team of researchers, architects, architectural students, anthropologists, photographers and sociologists. It was conducted in 2024-2025 from different locations, with the core team based in Switzerland and Austria. The contributors of the research are based all around the globe: Australia, Bangladesh,Cuba, Georgia, India, Italy, Israel, Mongolia, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. etc.

It was supported by a RCDAV research grant provided by HES-SO (Haute École spécialisée de Suisse occidentale) and co-financed by HEAD.

Project leader: Leonid Slonimskiy (KOSMOS Architects)
Project team: Leonid Slonimskiy, Gili Merin, Valentina De Luigi