The project Under Construction is about a form of “social economy” and its implications for people and the physical environment they inhabit. Despite contemporary global urbanization and its attendant economy, there are still rural areas today where barter is the main mode of exchange. The project draws on this tradition and proposes bartering as a practice in an urban context for the refurbishment of the historical center of the city – a process carried out by people without sufficient monetary means. 

The recommended approach encompasses the use of a near-extinct form of trade to rescue threatened historical centers. Additionally, the strategy involves the reuse and recycling of existing material stocks. Materials that cannot be directly reprocessed are re-inserted into new use-cycles: wood for making furniture, stones for making foundations and construction debris for making gardens. All in all, the design promotes not only a promising economic model, but most importantly one put to work to literally mine cities rather than nature.

Read project overview: Under Construction: Restoring an urban historical center