Two-part harmony: Living in a house that balances on a pole and rotates in the wind

Imagine living in a precariously rotating house that is only stable when you and your roommate move in sync. Artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley did just that, then built it. ReActor, their modernist-style residence and art installation in upstate New York, balances on a pole that rotates in response to the wind and its occupants’ movements.

Known for their innovative performance installations, Schweder and Shelley share a passion for the complex interactions that exist between ourselves and our spaces.

“We use balance, symmetry, and co-operation as active design principals,” says Schweder. “Our installations are performances in which at least two people occupy specially designed and constructed spaces for 10 continuous days.

”The structures are eccentric and extreme and place limits on each occupant’s autonomy, requiring behavioural adaptations. Most often the occupants need to behave in a co-operative way for life inside to go smoothly.”

Balanced on a single bearing point, ReActor is designed to react to forces inside and out.

“When it is unoccupied and there is no wind it remains stationary and level, but when there are mild breezes it begins to rotate,” Schweder says. “The movement is normally slow and graceful, but unpredictable, and will slow and change direction for no apparent reason. In a strong wind (and we have been in it during a 50mph blow) it doesn’t move too fast.

”It seems possessed of great self-control. It can also tilt like a seesaw when the two occupants move around inside because it changes the weight distribution.”

Measuring 13.5 metres long and 2.5 metres wide, ReActor sits atop a concrete column that raises it 4.6 metres off the ground.

“Nearly all the construction materials were bought at a normal building supply company and hardware stores,” he says. “We used a concrete column, plywood, some lovely manufactured wooden beams, off-the-shelf ball bearings and stretched clear vinyl for the windows.”

When staying at ReActor the pair spend time on their own and with visitors.

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“We actively engage with visitors but when we are on our own we like to relax and sink into ourselves,” he says. “We read, sketch, daydream, enjoy a happy hour (we use the bathroom for our bar) and eat dinner together from the two ends of the kitchen. It even has two back porches with comfortable chairs we like to take advantage of.”

Like a recreational vehicle, ReActor is full-functioning, complete with water tanks, batteries, and solar chargers.

“It has two living spaces mirrored on opposite sides of the house,” says Schweder. “The tipping point can only be maintained if we are the same distance from the centre, so we have to coordinate our movements by doing things at the same time. If we go to bed at the same time, the house stays in balance and if we simultaneously go to our reading chairs, we remain balanced and level.”

While ReActor is an artwork and experiment, Schweder says the experience has changed their thinking.

“It is a house for two people in which they can’t really be together. That said, the experience turned out to be much more pleasant than we intended.

“It has nudged our thinking in new directions and we have been talking about a sister structure that would accommodate a happy couple, like a weekend home. Picture this sited on a cliff in Utah! We are definitely looking for someone who would be interested.”