Permanent Parasites: The Parasite as a Permanent Installation in Adaptive Reuse
Keywords: parasite, installation, architecture, design, adaptive reuse
Abstract: While installation design and parasitical architecture have the potential of feeding each other and to attach themselves to a larger picture of an existing structure, it is important on how, in the context of adaptive reuse, the two can become one. Questions emerge regarding the mobile aspects of parasitical design and the temporary nature of an installation within a AR project. But can adaptive reuse design use principals from installation and parasitical design and make it permanent, not temporary or mobile?
Explorations of typologies within these three realms (installation, parasite, adaptive reuse) will be made in order to find common ground and find a successful way to define installation architecture as a permanent parasitical element in adaptive reuse. In addition, a discussion of the parasite in a biological sense is made to further understand the relationships of parasites with their hosts, ultimately relating these to the architectural types of installations.
Case Studies:
- “Convertible City” (Armand Grüntuch and Almut Ernst, German Pavilion @ Venice Bienalle, 2006)
- “Rucksack House (Backpack house)” (Stefan Eberstadt, Germany [various], 2004)
- “Las Palmas Parasite” (Koreteknie and Stuhlmacher, Rotterdam, 2001)
- “Bubble” (Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Washington DC, 2010-12)
- “Nomiya” (Larent Grasso & Pascal Grasso, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2009)
- “The Cube” (Electroluxe, Various [Brussels, London, Stockholm…], 2011-ongoing)s
by Roxanna Salceda
Principle of Adaptive Reuse 