Title

Author(s)

Andrés de Santiago Aréizaga

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/USTC8923

Keywords

Palestine, Reuse, Resistance

PP

306-312

How to Cite

de Santiago Aréizaga, Andrés. “Void Reuse Adaptive Practices for Cultural Survival in Palestine.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 306–312. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

Under conditions of protracted violence, belligerent occupation, and forced displacement, adaptive reuse transcends architectural convention and the aesthetics of contemporary design. In this fractured landscape, it becomes far less a stylistic choice or nostalgic act than a necessity and a human rights imperative. This study reframes adaptive reuse as an agent of urgent cultural preservation and resilience within the current context in Palestine, where architecture is not simply abandoned but actively destroyed. As such, adaptive reuse cannot follow orthodox trajectories of conservation or renovation. Instead, it must seek to document loss, reinscribe memory, and sustain cultural identity amid ongoing destruction. And in its interventions, to engage with local and transnational practices of architectural forensics, citizen-led mapping, and situated care — reimagining the ruins of homes, schools, and heritage sites as material testimonies, participatory archives, and legal evidence.
Drawing on the practices of the Forensic Architecture units at Goldsmiths and Al-Haq, as well as those of Riwaq, this paper explores how situated strategies of adaptive reuse in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, exceed heritage protection. Operating under a regime of blockade and closure, these practices safeguard collective memory, foster sustainable futures, and function as mnemonic tools, preserving obliterated areas as living records of affection and care. The study argues that, in Gaza, adaptive reuse must contend with both the physical aftermath of military violence and its long-term consequences for children and future generations, whose histories, development, and spatial imaginaries are targets. By critically expanding the discourse of adaptive reuse into zones of conflict and emergency evacuation, it advocates for a reconfiguration of conservation as a mode of solidarity, resistance, and human rights accountability. One that honours the right to remembrance, lived space, and futurity in the face of systemic annihilation.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.