Exploring ephemeral architecture

Abstract

The dissertation investigates ephemerality in architecture not merely as a state of impermanence, but as a powerful spatial and cultural strategy. In contrast to architecture's traditional alignment with permanence and endurance, the study positions ephemerality as a design approach that is responsive, effective, and deeply attuned to time, context, and lived experience. It asks how architecture can remain meaningful even when it is temporary. Using a qualitative methodology grounded in literature, case study analysis, and expert interviews, the research establishes a framework for analysing ephemeral architecture through both tangible and intangible dimensions. The study analyses twelve diverse case studies through a typological lens encompassing Rituals, Altering Perception, Synchronising Collective Experience, and Temporal Collage. The case studies are evaluated using a six-parameter framework: time, material, adaptability and flexibility, context and site, social and cultural significance, and conceptual and symbolic role. The findings reveal that ephemeral architecture does not simply disappear; it resonates. While physically transient, the interventions often generate enduring cultural, emotional, and spatial imprints through their process, symbolism, and participatory nature. The framework developed enables comparative analysis, highlighting recurring themes while also exposing unexpected variations across contexts and typologies. Ultimately, the study proposes ephemerality not as a limitation but as a generative design tool that embraces change, prioritises experience and responds to the rhythms of people and place. It invites further research into how ephemerality can be meaningfully embedded in architectural thinking, offering a more adaptive and time-sensitive approach to contemporary practice.