Are You Available This Week is an exercise designing in partnership with local systems of repair, improvisation, and material reuse and recirculation in R.I. and southern M.A.  

Repairing and salvaging is not a new concept, in fact it is quite common.  The concept has become more mainstream in the U.S. over recent decades in response to a culture and economy overwhelmed by growth.


The title is a nod to:

1. the people and communities who work with second hand things, the dirt and dust of consumption

2. the attitude with which I approached sourcing and valuing C&D waste and tools based on availabilty and cooperates with non-standardized materials

3. the coordination required for community engagement.  

Through the framework of repair, reuse, and sistering, the project recognizes the body’s capacity, labor, and performativity in the design process. I embrace the workshop format as a recursive research and learning strategy. The project responds with and facilitates a series of events that gather around play intended to familiarize individuals with tools and to delight in the tactility of working with scrap. At the same time, connecting participants with communities doing similar work and suggesting other reuse oriented workshops for others to adopt.




LILY’S PARAMETERS & PROJECT CONSTRAINTS

The container, the body, the car, the availability, the desk as a work metric.





Lily’s Parameters & the Project’s Constraints


JOURNAL
A messy, detour ridden approach to thesis


DATE ENTRY
Mon. May 6-20SisteringSat. April 27Community WorkshopFri. April 26Workshop Set UpSat. April 20PVD ThingsThurs. April 18Habitat for Humanity & Creative Reuse CenterWed. April 17Benefit St. RenoSat. April 13Repair Space Pop-UpThurs. April 11Bay View Academy Workshop Mon. April 8Valerie’s StudioThurs. April 4Habitat for Humanity & Home DepotTues.  April 1Coveted CastersThurs. March 28Buddy’s Basement Part 2 Wed. March 27Buddy’s Basement Part 1 March 24-26Building a ShelfWed. March 20Second Life ExchangeFri. March 8SaversThurs. March 7Habitat for Humanity RestoreWed. February 28PVD ThingsTues. February 27Creative Reuse Center & Ruth’s Basement Part 2Thurs. February 22Ruth’s Basement Part 1My Mom, the Pick Up Artist The Work Plan

Wednesday, March 27th
I’ve known for a few years that Auntie Martha’s house, like my own, was also on a decluttering journey. It just so happened that my thesis process and her personal goals aligned. 


Uncle Buddy’s Wood Shop


The decluttering process is both a material sourcing opportunity and inherently an act of service for someone who felt weighed down by stuff. 

Returning to the BEB


Meet the Suppliers!

PVD Things
Habitat for Humanity Restore
Nancy ringing me up
Creative Reuse Center


TOOLS & SIDEKICKS

Containers and storage that accompany me to workshops. A mix of found and repurposed materials.


safety gear
reuse network
cut cutting mat
resources
cutting tool & blades
misc. nuts & bolts
rulers, clamps, & drills
tapes, string, ropes, cable ties, etc...
pvc storage cart

THE WORKSHOP

 Acts of playful construction and structured tinkering taking delight in the tactility of architectural scrap materials and the aesthetics of improvisation. 

Participants shape the workshop intentions and outcomes.

All skills can come into play.

Learn from experimentation, fail, and proudly present works in progress.



APRIL 11

A workshop on binding with St. Mary Academy Bay View K-12 all-girls school in East Providence.

Visited on March 18 to discuss research and workshop intentions with students



APRIL 27


A workshop on How To: Meet Up with RISD students and faculty, members of PVD Things, PVD Bike Collective, and the Nest in the Repair Atelier.
Exercise #1: String, Rope, and Cord

Exercise #2: Turning a Corner

Exercise #3: Containers






REUSE NETWORK

A rolodex address book of people interested in second hand things, collecting, repairing, educating, making, and learning new skills!





FUTURES IN SISTERING

Thesis partner Megan Holzrichter and I joined forces to build a shared exhibition wall constructed from soil and concrete footings and my stock and tools. 

Sistered beams = a term used in construction referring to the structural interdependence with what already exists,

They are stronger together!








LILY GUCFA, RISD ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT, SPRING 2024