Plugin Busua
Biennale Architettura 2023 – Guests from the Future
Plugin Busua is a spatial installation that brings the atmosphere and architectural presence of a realized community surf lodge in Busua, Ghana, into the exhibition space. Juxtaposing large-scale fragments of the built structure with film and sound, the installation explores how community, climate, and materiality intersect through architectural form.
Developed through a long-term collaboration with the Surf Ghana Collective, the built project combines adaptive reuse with a playful, tectonic plugin—crafted from sustainable materials and shaped for social interaction and climatic performance. For the exhibition, fragments were fabricated in Ghana from a salvaged fishing boat, transporting the textures of Busua’s coastline and community into the gallery. Between these fragments, a suspended screen shows everyday life around the lodge, captured in a 14-minute film by artist Nii Obodai. This immersive environment layers material, movement, and sound to evoke a specific spatial atmosphere—an abstract yet grounded translation of place.
Architects: Juergen Strohmayer and Glenn DeRoché
Part of the Curator’s Special Project Guests from the Future at La Biennale Architettura 2023 curated by Lesley Lokko
Film & Sound: Nii Obodai
Carpentry Lead: Chadi Dakmak / Model Supervisor: Maher Soufi / Fabrication Team: Christian Amanyo Kwaku Tsey, Justice Taylor, Denis Kwame Ofori, Isaac Mensah, John Mensah, Joseph Tettey Simon Tetevia, Happy Attigan, Khaled Kilanaki, Osei Tutu, Patrick Ofori-Atta Agyei
Supported by the African Futures Institute