Modern House Spins and Tilts as Part of Performance Architecture Project

modern residence
This unusual rotating house was designed and implemented by architect-artist duo Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley as part of a ‘performance architecture’ project. The residence was recently on display at the OMI International Arts Center in Ghent, New York, where it drew attention of the worldwide media.

Named ‘Reactor’, the 44-foot by 8-foot structure rotates 360-degrees atop a 15-foot concrete column in response to its inhabitants’ movements, exterior forces, and interior conditions, making visible the intimate relationship between architecture and its inhabitants, as the developers explain.

Have a look at the video below to get a general idea about what this means when put into practice:

Schweder and Shelley lived in this structure for five days, with visitors at Ghent gathering around to see them. This made for an unusual ‘artist in residence’ experience, where innovative architecture played a major part.

The rotating house features a water supply and water waste system, as well as a versatile kitchen where all functional stations are on panels that fold down: cooking, cleaning and two for dining.

“We almost never stop drifting in circles. It takes only the slightest breeze to set us in motion. It feels grand and processional. The rocking motion, on the other hand, is mostly caused by us moving around inside. The motions are graceful and oceanic,” Shelley wrote in the diary of the inaugural run.

Schweder added: “A view that is always changing, sleep that comes and goes with the sun’s light, and a sense of connection with your roommate through knowing what he is doing and feeling mediated by the building — in short, this building is breaking our habits.”

The house will be on display for two years and the duo will live inside again for short periods of time in 24-25 September and again on 6-10 October.

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