Scarcity of resources in all forms is commonly portrayed in a negative light. Yet these
conditions-which have long been a reality in many extreme climate conditions across the global
South and are increasingly becoming a global reality-often stimulate an abundance of innovation
inspiration and ingenuity. Permanence has created a climate crisis with spaces constructed
with non-degradable materials resource extraction without active replenishment and buildings
designed for a single-eternal use. Our present reality is marked by a global pandemic violent
conflicts and the looming threat of climate change-induced environmental disasters. Yet there
remains an optimism about the creative possibilities that arise within these constraints. Field
Notes on Scarcity published in conjunction with the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial
examines what scarcity truly looks like on the ground and the challenges and opportunities it
presents across architecture and design. Sixty scholars and practitioners from across the
Global South-including Lesley Lokko Yinka Shonibare Formafantasma Rahul Mehrotra Olalekan
Jeyifous Abeer Seikaly Ilze and Heinrich Wolff Chitra Vishwanath and Deema Assaf-contribute
reflections poems visual essays and dialogues exploring what scarcity represents what it
inspires and what it reveals.
