Any process of renovation is forced to reckon and engage with the history, the context, and the stories of a place. As such, renovation ultimately has the potential to transcend the material and operate metaphysically, through meaning, purpose, and identity. While demolition and new construction pushes the past into the realm of oblivion, renovation not only acknowledges the value and weight of what came before, but also has the potential to change it.

Framing Renovation is a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana within the context of the 2023–24 LINA Architecture Program.

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11 essays
The renovation of rural, abandoned villages does not need to entail a radical, metamorphic transformation of their functions and physical configuration. Rather, it can take place through a slow, continuous practice of inhabitation.
Katrina Wiberg
The speed and magnitude of rising sea levels are the cause of considerable levels of uncertainty and flood risk in coastal communities. Approximately 10% of Earth’s population live in coastal areas less than ten meters above relative sea level, and 40% live within 100 kilometers of the coast. Denmark has followed global trends in concentrating new urban development in low-lying former wetlands and land that has been reclaimed from the sea, both of which are flood risk zones.
The former British Post Office building in Istanbul came into our lives during the Covid pandemic. Or, perhaps more accurately, that is when we walked into its life. It was the first post office that the British built beyond the borders of their empire.
Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal
Nick Axel: Your recent work in Italy looks at renovation beyond the material condition, towards a more historical, political, and almost metaphysical …
Nicole Kalms
For many practitioners, “inclusive” and “gender neutral” design is viewed as the “gold standard” for public placemaking. However, these approaches can paradoxically negatively impact many people, and can have particular concerning consequences for women and girls in cities.
The environmental crisis adds a layer of complexity to the development and management of public housing in the city. To address this complexity, it is crucial to explore new ways of transforming existing housing stock and reducing demolition waste.
Future Foodscapes Research Unit
Think about your last meal. Visualize its ingredients, colors, and flavors. Now, try to think about how it ended up on your plate; what sort of spaces it passed through, what kinds of architecture and infrastructure were involved in such a journey. Let’s begin at the everyday laboratory that is your kitchen, where your meal has likely been assembled from tiny cans, containers, and packages.
Mo Michelsen Stochholm Krag
There is a strong, albeit latent, relationship between the local identities of village communities, collective memories of place, and abandoned buildings. The potential for renovation in these rural villages is not so much about restoring derelict buildings to their original state, but rather rebuilding community cohesion through their transformation.
Arno Brandlhuber, Ludwig Engel, Olaf Grawert, and Alina Kolar
Do you rent an apartment or own a building? Are you involved in the building sector? Are you concerned about the environment? Well, you should be.
Ana Dana Beroš and Mika Savela
Not all old factories can become cultural foundations; not all white sanatoriums in pine forests have the spotlight of contemporary design shining over them. Most of the built environment, even some the sleekest of modernist monuments, must seek other ways to survive.
Matevž Čelik, Mateja Kurir, Nuša Zupanc, and e-flux Architecture
Framing Renovation is a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana within the context of the 2023–24 LINA Architecture Program.
Category
Architecture, Urbanism
Subject
Landscape, Climate change, Community, Memory, Energy

Framing Renovation is a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana within the context of the 2023–24 LINA Architecture Program.

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