Colony

The devastating effects of natural disasters and economic volatility have spurred architects to reconsider how to build in a tumultuous world. Argentinian architecture firm a77 is creating a colony in MoMA PS1’s outdoor courtyard in which artists, thinkers, architects, and other cultural agents are invited to live and work communally. Led by Gustavo Diéguez and Lucas Gilardi, a77 works with recycled and salvaged materials to create temporary housing. Powerful storms have left behind wreckage destined for landfills and the foreclosure crisis has created a glut of abandoned homes. The architects reimagine such bleak conditions to find new forms of sustainable dwellings as alternatives to the traditional house. In addition to an architectural performance, at both the stages of its construction and occupation, the colony is a model that proposes alternative uses of public space.