I am honoured to be invited to give a speech at Joint Master Seminar S3: “Crisis Architecture – 2 / Relation Nature – City : Permanent crisis situation” which is being hosted at Hepia, part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, in Geneva from 1 to 5 December 2014. I am so happy to find chance to speak about my academic, civic and personal experiences regarding to -our-Attachment to the Frozen Crises (through the very special case of Cyprus!). I am also so excited to visit Geneva for the first time!
Crisis Architecture – 2
Relation Nature – City: Permanent crisis situation?
To build in crisis or emergency situation has, as in other contexts, an impact on the transformation process of our environment, our architectural culture, our art to build.
An attentive observation of our environment let us see numerous tracks of actions carried out with the aim of protecting our establishments and become a significant part of our urban and regional landscape.
The contemporary urban sprawl leads to a cohabitation in rising conflicting between constructed sectors and spared natural zones. This evolution creates new conditions of risk which were recently highlighted by natural disasters in the major impacts: collapses, earthquakes, avalanches, floods etc.
In parallel with this evolution, the requirements regarding law and order and the weak tolerance admitted in front of any uncertainty on these questions leads to a permanent revision of the standards and the constraints compulsory for any new construction.
The medium and long-term impact of these phenomena and their current events are in the heart of the subjects which will be treated within the framework of the seminar of December, 2014.
Following the model of the first seminar organized on the same theme in 2010, the week will be shared between periods dedicated to conferences and periods of experiment of project in situation of urgency or crisis.
Michael Jakob, professor hepia, will be responsible of the theoretical part of the seminar and the conferences;
Ivan Vuarambon, architect EPFL and responsible de project in the DDC will be responsible of the practice part of the seminar.
The seminar of the JMA will approach this phenomenon by proposing a historic, theoretical and specific analysis of the relation structure and crisis.
Attachment to the frozen crises
Abstract
This presentation explores the entangled relationship between architecture, memory, and crisis through the case of Famagusta, Cyprus. Once a thriving tourist hub, the city’s Varosha district became a “frozen” space after 1974, closed off and left in decay, embodying both material destruction and suspended time. Drawing on personal narratives, historical timelines, and cultural analysis, the study highlights how people’s deep attachments to place-formed through everyday life, heritage, and memory-were ruptured by forced displacement and political division. The presentation situates these experiences within broader theoretical frames of place attachment, collective memory, and the concept of the “wicked problem,” emphasizing how fragmentation and competing narratives between communities complicate reconciliation. At the same time, it introduces the Famagusta Eco-City Project as a case of envisioning architecture and urban design as tools for dialogue, empathy, and peace-building. By reframing crisis not only as loss but also as a catalyst for adaptive and regenerative thinking, the presentation demonstrates the potential of architecture to mediate between the past and the future. Ultimately, it argues that architectural practice in contested geographies must engage with memory, identity, and human resilience in order to transform frozen crises into opportunities for shared renewal.
C E R E N B O G A C 