Few structures have been labored over as much as the barn. From community raising weekends and feminist pedagogical projects, to back-to-the land conversions and acts of preservation, these are sites where commonly held distinctions break down: between and architecture and building, amateurs and professionals, nature and culture, and individuals and collectives. Staging Area: A Barn Raising in Two Parts is a collective endeavor where materials, information, and skills are exchanged on-site. Installed at Art Omi’s outdoor Sculpture & Architecture Park, Part Two of the project takes the form of an exposed timber frame that realizes the performative and social possibilities that unfold on a construction site. The project encourages reflection on the role of the architect in this contemporary moment by challenging the hierarchy purported in the field of architecture. Recognizing the value of collaborative, nonprofessional contributions, Staging Area invites participation through choreographed events, from a raising supper to a lumber parade, fostering new forms of engagement with architecture and one another.

Erin Besler is an assistant professor of architecture at Princeton University and the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Preceptor. Besler is also cofounder of Besler & Sons, a studio that designs buildings, software, objects, exhibitions, and interiors. As a researcher, designer, and educator, Besler focuses on architecture as a collective project, exploring the social, pedagogical, and material aspects of construction, social media, and other means of producing and sharing content that rely less on expertise and more on ubiquity. Besler’s work has been recognized by the Architectural League of New York, a United States Artists Fellowship, and the Rome Prize in Architecture, and has been exhibited internationally including at the MODEL Barcelona Architecture Festival, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism. Besler’s collaborative design and research have been published widely including in e-flux, Future Anterior, Perspecta, Log, and PLOT. Besler holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a MArch with distinction from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Prior to joining the faculty at Princeton, Besler taught at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design, and was awarded the A.UD Teaching Fellowship.