FACES, journal d’architecture. No. 85 / Reuse
Publication: June 2025

FACES is launching a call for projects from members of the FAS (Federation of Swiss Architects), as well as a call for theoretical articles.

What are we to make of buildings that incorporate reused elements? Is it simply a matter of constructive adaptation, or is it a new approach that calls into question the way in which we might envisage an architectural project? To address these questions, FACES will devote issue 85 to the theme of reuse.

If our society is to take account of events linked to global warming, we need to start thinking differently about the act of building. This is the new challenge facing all those involved in developing our natural and built environment. One of the new issues facing them is that of reducing carbon impact, with the aim of using materials efficiently and over as long a period as possible. One way of achieving this is through reuse, which is defined as “the careful removal of components from a building that has become obsolete and the extension of their life within another building”. These elements are therefore modified or reused “as is”. The source of reused parts comes from a “donor building” that is inserted into a “recipient building”.

At a time when travel depended on human and animal sources of energy, anything within reach was welcome. When a building was demolished, it was natural to extract the materials to build another. Disused buildings were used as quarries for materials.

The 20th century, which saw the advent of concrete, was also the century of the tabula rasa. Buildings aimed for absolute efficiency, and components located on a built site were systematically sent to landfill. Today, with the combined effects of the depletion of natural resources and climate change, the issue of reuse has re-emerged, and is even becoming an imperative in some projects.

Reusing parts of buildings in a new environment calls for new implementation practices. A host of questions are being asked about the role and remit of architects. Some people are campaigning for an exhaustive list to be drawn up of the elements to be dismantled when a building is demolished, so that they can be reused. Central purchasing and sales offices for materials have been set up. An industry for reusing all types of materials is slowly being set up.

Does reuse engender a new aesthetic? Does “making do” automatically imply a DIY aesthetic? Reused objects are not designed or shaped by the designer but accepted with their formal and accidental characteristics. This strategy offers a fantastic reservoir of possibilities. Given that 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, it would be appropriate here to evoke the principle of “laziness” that guided Marcel Duchamp in the creation of his ready-mades, i.e. a creative thought that is eminently thrifty, producing something new without having to create it ex nihilo. Objects accidentally chosen by the artist seem to take on a new semantic depth simply by being moved or reoriented.

Reuse also raises formal issues such as assembly. We could even say that this procedure is compulsory, since reuse automatically implies materials from a donor building and new materials coming together.

FACES is launching a call for projects to be published by members of the two FAS sections in French-speaking Switzerland for issue 85. The aim is to look at our territory — Romandie —, to understand whether trends and recurrences can be detected there and then venture into making comparisons with projects carried out in other places.

Completed projects or parts of projects must address the above theme. Projects that have not yet been completed may be submitted, provided that they fully meet the requirements.
It goes without saying that the authors of projects do not have to be FAS members and that an FAS member may propose a project of his or her own production.

At the same time, the journal is launching an international call for theoretical articles on the subject of reuse. These theoretical texts, which will be included in the “thematic dossier” section of the journal, should be between 20,000 and 25,000 characters, including spaces.

The schedule is as follows:

2 February 2025, date for submission of projects in the form of a single-sided A4 sheet with plan and photos, accompanied by a short description and presentation of the designer. Each architect and/or designer must designate an author to write a critical article.

2 February 2025 – the same date is set for submitting a proposal for theoretical articles in the form of an abstract of 3,000 characters. 

17 February 2025, the selected articles and projects are announced.

13 April 2025, submission of both types of article:

Critical articles relating to selected projects, 7,000 characters long including spaces (see the format for articles in the FACES 81 project booklet) and submission of the relevant graphic documents by the architectural offices.
Theoretical articles of between 20,000 and 25,000 characters in length including spaces (an editing guide will be sent to authors in February) and illustrations with high-definition images will be sent.

Applications in FRENCH or ENGLISH should be sent by email only to Eliza Culea-Hong, journal coordinator: facesrevue@gmail.com.

Adrien Besson, guest editor