The Beauty of Impermanence is a scholarly documentation of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. It explores architectural responses to sustainability, resource scarcity, and adaptability, highlighting the contrasting resource management strategies of the Global North and South over the last 400 years. The North exploited resources through a belief in endless abundance and technological advances, underpinned by religious and mythological justifications for colonialism and slavery. The South, characterised by resource scarcity, has innovated within these constraints, developing adaptable, sustainable solutions that may offer a blueprint for future global resource management.

The book advocates for a shift away from a consumption-driven approach to one that is ecologically and ethically responsible, urging a collective and constructive resolve to create systemic change for a sustainable future. It is structured around the thematic strands Renewed Contextual, Extraction Politics, and Intangible Bodies and features essays by noted scholars and practitioners. Detailed project spreads from Triennial participants, showcasing innovative practices that integrate sustainable methods and materials round off this volume that serves as a vital resource for those engaged in the fields of architecture, sustainability, and urban planning.

Text in English and Arabic.

Tosin Oshinowo is an architect, creative entrepreneur, public speaker, and author based in Lagos, where she runs her own design consultancy firm CmDesign Atelier. She was the curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. Julie Cirelli is a Stockholm-based American journalist and editor specialising in architecture and design, and co-director of Zurich-based architecture publishing house Park Books.