6.24.2008

Activist Architecture.





Herman Wallace has been in solitary confinement in the US since 1972.
He spends 23 hours a day in a 6 ft. by 9 ft. prison cell.
Wallace was originally convicted of robbery but was later controversially accused of killing a prison officer.
In 2003 activist+artist Jackie Sumell asked Wallace, ‘what kind of house does a man who has lived in a 6x9 box for over thirty years dream of?’
This question spurred the project known as ‘The House that Herman Built’ which is currently on exhibition at the London Festival of Architecture.
Herman and Jackie communicated over the phone- Herman explained his imagined/ideal house and then Jackie created sketches, architectural models, and plans of the design.
Through fundraising Sumell has received enough money to build the house in Wallace's hometown of New Orleans.
A film on this story is in the process of being made-see the inspiring trailer here: http://www.timeofdayfilms.com/thehousehermanbuilt.html

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