Housing defies standard market models by acting as a non-substitutable necessity rather than a typical commodity. Because residents are bound to specific locations by work and family, they lack the mobility to "shop around," which neutralizes their bargaining power. This inelastic demand, when combined with speculative practices like property hoarding and short-term rentals, has triggered a severe, chronic housing crisis.

Today, this crisis is acute: rising costs have outpaced wages, leading to widespread precarity and homelessness. Furthermore, the issue is inseparable from climate change, as those in precarious housing are most vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Architects play a central role in the production and maintenance of housing. This studio addresses the crisis at multiple scales, from developing new governance models for emergency housing to designing living spaces that prioritize durability and extended building lifecycles.

This studio is structured around two exercises that examine the housing crisis through the lenses of maintenance and adaptation. The first explores the tent as an architectural device, shifting it from a leisure object to a tool for survival in the public realm. The second focuses on the design of an Emergency Shelter within vacant office space in Geneva, where students apply the lessons learned from the first exercise regarding spatial organization and long-term management, to an architecture transformation project.