Transitorial - Jerusalem Design Week
Developed in 2022 for the Jerusalem Design Week (JDW), Transitorial is a site-specific architectural intervention that explores the transitory state of objects during large-scale cultural events. When an exhibition occupies a permanent space like the Hansen House, existing furniture and infrastructure are typically hidden or moved out of the way. The studio, in collaboration with designers Joan Vellvé Rafecas and Raphael Coutin, proposed an alternative: instead of concealing these "to-be-displaced" elements, they were utilized as the primary building blocks for a new, temporary outdoor framework.
The project was conceptualized around the premise that "garbage is matter out of place." The design team approached the Hansen House as an active "urban mine," collecting not only the building’s internal furniture but also the cut-outs, leftovers, and waste produced during the exhibition’s own construction phase. By arranging these disparate elements into an ad-hoc assemblage, the studio created a functional space that served as the headquarters for the JDWaste collaborative effort—an initiative dedicated to highlighting the creative opportunities found within the waste unavoidable in such events.
Technically, the installation was a logistical masterclass in spontaneous engineering. Working on-site with the JDW building team, the studio carefully balanced the historical value of specific Hansen House items with modern safety requirements. The resulting structure was not a fixed building, but a precarious yet stable arrangement of existing matter. This "spatial scanning" method allowed the team to re-purpose the venue’s own "shadow" archive, ensuring that every element cleared for the main exhibition found a temporary dwelling within the Transitorial framework.
As a significant research project into the metabolism of events, Transitorial reinforces the studio’s commitment to "pro-cycling." By treating leftovers and displaced furniture as architectural resources, the team proved that the identity of a space is not lost during its transformation, but rather concentrated into new, unexpected forms. The project stands as a provocative statement on the myriad opportunities hidden within the waste and garbage of the design industry, transforming the "out of place" into a purposeful destination.