Heritage Without Permanence: When Architecture Endures by Disappearing

Serpentine Pavillion 2013/ Suo Fujimoto. Image © Iwan Baan​​A Gothic cathedral can take centuries to complete. A world exposition pavilion may stand for six months. A ritual structure in Kolkata rises and vanishes within five days. Yet each draws pilgrimage, shapes collective memory, and reorganizes urban life. If heritage has long been defined by what endures, architecture repeatedly shows that cultural authority can also belong to what gathers people.For much of the twentieth