Palimpsest

When remnants of different eras are found in the same layer, we speak of a palimpsest. In her project by the same name, Lucie Gholam seeks to provoke a revaluation of the life cycle of building materials in cities where new buildings replace old ones constantly. Architecture is a tangible testament to the passage of time, anchoring traces of history into our built environment. To make this tangible, Lucie designed an architectural object in which pieces of construction waste are linked together by ‘hempcrete’ (an organic concrete made of hemp). The designs unlock the potential of each fragment to convey narratives and evoke a sense of place. The project proposes a sustainable alternative to construction materials that, at the same time, unveils the hidden stories embedded within debris materials.