A nomadic play system that turns safety infrastructure into instruments of contact
SCALE modular system; components ranging from 2–8 ft; multi-station configurations
TYPE site-specific installation / performance interface
SITES Body Zone (Detroit), Alcova Miami
SCOPE design, fabrication
AWARDS winner, Architectural League Prize 2024
The Railings is a modular collection of everyday safety fixtures—handrails, grab bars, padded supports—reconfigured and reimagined as tools for pleasure, friction, and unexpected forms of touch. First installed at Body Zone, one of Detroit’s last remaining gay saunas, the work uses stainless-steel components, clamps, and industrial hardware to create architectures that can be climbed, leaned on, wrapped around, or used as choreographic prompts.
Each configuration adapts to its host site, responding to circulation patterns, social dynamics, and available architectural details. The system is lightweight, durable, and endlessly reconfigurable, allowing it to travel and shift across various contexts, from queer nightlife spaces to galleries and design fairs. Through these shifting installations, The Railings asks how standardized safety components can be reclaimed as instruments for intimacy, play, and public encounter.
Read more at archleague.org. TEAM
Strat Coffman
Upholestery: Nancy Lynch (Side Stitches),
Production assistants: Sabrina Ramsay, Valeria Velázquez, Sydney Sinclair Supported by Body Zone