The post-industrial age rediscovered the fascination with ruins: from shabby chic to ruin-porn, the imprint of decay on repetitive standardized production serves as a trigger of commodification. The project of Ruincarnations counters existing ruin-porn imagery and fetishizations of decay with reaffirming a subversive potential of the ruin. Commodification of decay is possible only insofar as it remains an (artistic, social or political) Other. Relocating the ruin to mainstream (re)use erases this difference.

Productive conflict between the existing structure and new use is an architectural subversion as well. A design according to a fixed set of expectations functions perfectly only in a single scenario. The creation of a carefully curated architectural conflict between the user and the structure opens up possibilities for a sustainable interpretation of functionality: saving what is worth saving in the contemporary fascination with ruins and decay.