Basel House - Repurposed Aircraft Home

- physical build

- funding partners and options being discussed

- this project currently influencing existing building projects

- augmented reality options being considered

I’ve forever been looking for ways to influence the world with my odd perspective.

BASEL HOUSE was one such divergent exploration. Having always been interested in aviation (I even studied Aerospace Engineering in my first year of college) and with my history of repurposing found objects; when I learned these amazing machines are deemed useless after their safe period of active duty, I could not have been more excited to jump right into this project. I saw so much usefulness in these hulking hollow metal ships.

Instantly, my initial scouting for Miami land/space to show this monster during Art Basel was received with great enthusiasm, although changes to some of Miami’s local building laws would need to be revisited in order to proceed with this project. Full time use of the space outside of the annual event still needs to be resolved before this project can go live again. However, this project is more about where we can go now instead of going back to start this one up again. This project has turned into a stepping stone for something bigger and better.

More recently, my desire to expand Refit Or Die into a larger scale was further fueled by moving my studio to Pittsburgh. The many empty buildings in southwestern Pennsylvania reminded me of the aircraft home idea and I got to thinking about how to take remnants of Westinghouse and the steel industry and transform them into new experimental options. Innovations that could attract more of those looking to explore how we live and the structures we live in.