ReActor house for OMI is a study of the complex exchanges between our spaces and our selves, taking the form of a modernist-style residence lifted atop a 15-ft concrete column – allowing for its rotation in response to the wind and its inhabitants’ movements inside
Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley’s latest project for OMI International Arts Center in Ghent, NY is a study of the complex exchanges between our spaces and our selves.
Part of the duo’s ongoing investigation of 'social relationship architecture', ReActor is a modernist-style residence lifted atop a 15 ft (4.6m) concrete column where it rotates in response to the wind and its inhabitants’ movements inside.
Schweder and Shelley designed and built the 44ft x 8ft (13.4m x 2.4m) structure – fully-equipped with a working kitchen and running water – and moved in for a five-day performance in July. Their regular routines inevitably broke down as the artists sought a new sense of comfort. Each move had to be considered and coordinated to keep the house from tilting, and in the process an intimate choreography developed between the artists, the house and the environment. 'It takes only the slightest breeze to set us in motion,' wrote Shelley in a diary recounting their experience to the New York Times. 'It feels grand and processional. Always something to look at, always a new adjustment needed to stay in the shade.'
The experimental sculpture will be on display for the next two years and Schweder and Shelley will return as residents on September 24–25 and October 6–10, to further contemplate their spinning domesticity. If any problems should arise, the two could just retreat to their individual balconies at each end of the structure. Poetically, this arrangement is also the ideal one for keeping the structure in balance.
Each move has to be considered and coordinated to keep the house from tilting. In the process an intimate choreography is developed between the artists, the house and the environment
Schweder and Shelley designed and built the 44ft x 8ft (13.4m x 2.4m) structure – fully-equipped with a working kitchen and running water – and moved in for a five-day performance in July
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the OMI website
ADDRESS
OMI International Arts Center
1405 Co Rte 22
Ghent, NY 12075
-
William Kentridge's fluid sculptures are a vivid addition to the Yorkshire landscapeWilliam Kentridge has opened the first major exhibition to focus on his sculptures outside of South Africa at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
-
David Cronenberg’s ‘The Shrouds’ is the film for our post-truth digital ageThe film director draws on his own experience of grief for this techno conspiracy thriller
-
Cambridge Audio's new earbuds offer premium performance without denting your pocketThe Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 earbuds demonstrate just how far affordable audio tech has come in the last decade
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in CaliforniaA minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxuryThis coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside outFor the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think soFor some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summerA Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bonesWe step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New YorkThe Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas
