Plugin Busua

Plugin Busua juxtaposes architectural fragments with contextual film footage and sound to translate the spatial effects of a realized community surf lodge. The installation examines the interplay between architectural tectonics and community inhabitation; the urban and ecological scenarios that unfold, catalyzed through architectural forms. The built community hub by architects Juergen Strohmayer and Glenn DeRoché in Busua, Ghana, integrates functional, climatic, urban, and community-driven parameters on a small footprint through the adaptive reuse of an existing building and the introduction of a new architectural ‘plugin’ that is characterized by innovative materiality and a playful arrangement of primary forms. In the exhibition, large-scale fragments of the built form are hung to create a three-dimensional spatial installation that communicates the tectonics and spatial complexity of the architectural realization. The tectonic fragments were built in Ghana from a salvaged fishing boat that brings the patinated material qualities of the landscape and community of Busua to the exhibition space. Screens showing moments of activity, quotidian scenarios, and community inhabitation of the structure are suspended in-between the monolithic fragments. Forms in the installation are recognized in the 14min film by artist Nii Obodai, showing scenes from the site in Busua, Ghana. Through the visual layering of the physical fragments and film, and the use of site-specific sound, the work trans-locates the effects of the architectural adaptive-reuse project into the exhibition, providing visitors with an abstract, yet descriptive experience specific to the place.