When architecture is repair it takes root in the imperfection of the existing condition, and the uncertainty of a projected outcome.

What does architecture as repair look like? It draws on readily available knowledge of shared resources, and calls for actors from a variety of backgrounds. Experience and reputation takes priority over formal education. To work with material in the mode of repair, the speed and ease of accessibility outweighs other considerations in material choice. Finally, repair suggests that materials are part of a cycle of use and reuse – remade and redeployed by the same actors in the same place for a long time – thereby muddying the distinction between what is repaired and what is new, and allowing “repair” to simultaneously imply both endurance and renewal. It is aspirational.