Temporary Tecture: Structures of Necessity

These utilitarian structures—such as scaffolding, temporary supports, elements of protection and navigation, as well as climatic and event infrastructure—ensure the functioning of multiple processes essential to contemporary society, while often remaining under-reflected in social perceptions and academic discourse.

By crossing out Archi- in the title and highlighting Temporary in the word Contemporary, the book emphasizes its focus on temporary structures that lack declared authorship and are characterized more as practice rather than project. In this sense, these construction solutions can be perceived as a form of contemporary vernacular.

The book reveals the inherent ingenuity of these structures and their capacity to respond dynamically to immediate needs with minimal waste and maximum efficiency. This new approach shows that these “structures of necessity” offer an architectural language from which architects can learn—particularly in terms of adaptability, the use of local resources, circular economy principles, and conceptual radicalism—arguably pointing toward a new type of architectural order.

Ultimately, the book raises the question: How permanent should architectural solutions be in a continuously changing world? By examining the logic of these ubiquitous and quotidian infrastructures, the book explores what contemporary architecture can learn from the temporary structures.

The book has contributions by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Jan De Vylder and Philip Ursprung.