The work of architecture is often measured through tangible acts of construction where built form provides a register for labor expended. But how do we evaluate the subtractive work that goes into planning and executing a building’s demise, from orchestrating the demolition sequence to sorting through the discarded building materials left behind? This paper reflects on the creative potential of stock-taking to give rise to new spatial practices and pedagogical models through the work of a graduate research studio at Northeastern University. The projects from the studio explore durational and dispersed maintenance strategies for architecture’s material afterlives, taking cues from the inventory practices of the demolition and building material salvage industries.

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