Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley's ReActor: A Tipping Glass House Perched on Concrete Pillar at Architecture Omi

ReActor, a fully habitable glass house balanced atop a slender concrete pillar, was installed at the Architecture Omi exhibition WOOD: From Structure to Enclosure in Ghent, New York. Created by artist Ward Shelley and architect Alex Schweder, this 2016-17 installation represents their fifth collaborative project exploring performative architecture. The structure, which spins and tips with wind or occupant movement, directly references high Modernist glass house traditions while subverting them through DIY materials like MDF and Home Depot components. Unlike their previous physically demanding collaboration In Orbit (2014) at Pierogi's The Boiler in Brooklyn, ReActor offers more freedom of movement while maintaining a theatrical quarantine dynamic during periodic artist residencies. The work engages with Modernism's complex legacy, from the Villa Savoye to Philip Johnson's Glass House, while incorporating diagrammatic elements visible through transparent walls. Shelley's artistic practice of creating intricate timelines informs the project's narrative approach to architectural constraints. The installation will remain for two years at Omi International Arts Center in rural Columbia County.