On Liminality: Towards the Non-Extractive Spatial Practice

Abstract

This essay aims to advance creative research within architectural and artistic discourse, with a particular focus on the significance of site-specific practice. In light of contemporary trends in architectural sustainability and ecological discourse — especially the notion that everything is already built — this study explores and interprets key spatial phenomena, including liminality, sensitivity, and ephemerality. Through the lens of an urban ruin, it examines how these transient qualities manifest within the built environment, offering critical insights into the evolving relationship between architecture, temporality, and ecological consciousness. 

Contemporary architectural theory increasingly gravitates toward the radical reinvention of the existing built environment, emphasizing the necessity of adaptive reuse and sustainability. Scholars such as Hertweck, Topalovic, Nehmer, and Krieger advocate for “repair as a social practice” (Zambeletti, 2024, para. 1), while Malterre-Barthes envisions “a non-extractive future, made of what we have” (Malterre-Barthes, 2024). These perspectives challenge us to rethink our engagement with the built world, urging a paradigm shift from expansion to reinterpretation. This raises a fundamental question: How can we creatively reimagine the existing in ways that generate novel, unexpected, and dynamic futures? This essay argues that such an approach is intrinsically linked to the immersive potential of “found spaces” and must be grounded in a site-specific methodology to foster further meaningful interventions.