feb.
Architecture in Uncertainty
Is the Future Too Uncertain to Wait for Long-Form Architecture?
“Dysfunction is caused by disjunctures. I use the plural advisedly: under colonialism, disjunctures never come singly. In fact, another way to define colonialism is a series of disjunctures.” — Yvette Abrahams
The preceding quote is drawn from Yvette Abrahams’ text “Colonialism, Dysfunction and Disjuncture: Sarah Bartmann’s Resistance (Remix),” in which she speculatively reimagines Sarah Bartmann’s life as a form of resistance within a violent and foreign cultural system. What stood out to me most is Abraham’s insistence on the plural disjunctures, which she frames as a series of layered and aggregating social and cultural issues that organize the systems we currently operate under. Dysfunction, in this context, is presented not as a failure of individuals but as a condition produced by ongoing systemic failures.
Abrahams’ writing feels like it echoes some of the truths we see in present-day America. American life increasingly appears to be unraveling at the seams, marked by the overlapping crises of housing, labor, climate, and care. In response, we are always seeking clarity, certainty, and assurance that our resources will not be wasted. Our impulses surface in seemingly odd places: the increasing popularity of ephemeral architecture and immersive environments, studying TikTok product reviews before we buy anything, and participating in other targeted, consumer-curated experiences.
As an architectural designer, I began to speculate on why ephemerality has gained such traction in the design world and why so many designers are pivoting towards it. At its core, I think it is a question about whether the future of the Western world seems too uncertain to wait for long-form architecture. With much of my fascination with architecture taking shape through an interest in smaller-scale interventions, speculative futures, and visual art as critique, one can assume that this affinity can be linked to current socio-political conditions. This letter aims to highlight this observation, invite critique, and provoke speculation about the future of our built environment and those tasked with designing it.
Architecture is serious and intense work. It involves coordinating with multiple professionals, spending hours ensuring accuracy in drawings, client negotiations, submitting work for competitions, navigating political bureaucracy, and countless other tasks necessary to realize a building’s design. We are all aware of the immense work that goes into this process, and yet, spending ten years waiting to see a project realized feels incompatible with a generation taught not to assume stability or longevity. We are constantly reminded that we do not know what the next year, let alone the next decade, will bring.
These issues, when stacked with disjunctures such as economic instability, divided politics, and environmental uncertainty, create a scenario where people are seeking to escape. And thus, ephemerality in the built environment rises to become a serious contender for one of the many forms of escapism, not only for the general public, but even for the designer. It offers instant gratification: shorter timelines, lower monetary investments, and playful design exploration — all avenues of creativity that seem to align with a new generation of architectural designers.
Ephemeral architectural design offers another way of thinking about value, time, and care. In addition to opening a more accessible avenue to global information, it allows architecture to meet people in the present moment, where they are, and not decades into the future. This work insists that temporality does not equate to triviality and that escapism, when designed with intention, can operate as a form of critique and resistance. Imagination offers potential for different design futures and various trajectories in architecture and design professions.
Until next month,
stay BAD.d
Written by Diale Takona