«There Is Nothing More Permanent Than the Temporary»
The attraction of the ephemeral
Leonid Slonimskiy (Kosmos Architects, Zürich), Philippe Buchs und Dafni Retzepi (Sujets Objets, Genf) in conversation with Jasmin Kunst and Christoph Ramisch
Summary
As well as the classic practice of architecture, the work of the office Kosmos and Sujets Objets also moves between performances and urban interventions. In a conversation with werk, bauen + wohnen it was shown that the effect of temporary pieces of architecture is often greater than that of the permanent. Such architecture creates room for spontaneity, encourages new ways of reading urban spaces, and stimulates reflection about temporality. Often, buildings intended as permanent are already outdated by the time they are completed. Temporary uses help to discover ideas about how obsolete spaces and buildings can be newly programmed, without the need to demolish them. For the sustainable practice of architecture much can be learned from the construction of provisional buildings: for instance, considering from the start how a building will be dismantled or reused. The three young architects see the architect in the future as a curator of spaces and materials rather than their designer.
The conversation was held in English. Originaltext
Philippe Buchs (1989) is an architect and curator based in Geneva. In 2020, he co-founded Sujets Objets. He has been teaching since 2019 and will take over a guest studio at ETH Zurich in fall 2026. His work focuses on experimental research in the border regions of the discipline. Since 2025, he has been co-curator of the experimental exhibition space Arimna in Athens.
Dafni Retzepi (1992) is an architect and researcher based in Geneva and Athens. She is co-founder of Sujets Objets and teaches at ETH Zurich. In her doctoral thesis, Corners of Form: Politics at the Boundaries, she examines civic engagement in contemporary architectural practice. Since 2025, she has been co-curator of the experimental space Arimna in Athens.
Leonid Slonimskiy (1987) is an architect and researcher. He studied at MARKHI in Moscow and Columbia University in New York. In 2017, he founded Kosmos Architects after working for OMA and Herzog & de Meuron. He has taught at TU Wien and INDA Bangkok, and currently teaches at HEAD in Geneva.
