Prefigured Futures

Spring‘ ‘24 | Critic: Jesse LeCavalier

The Prefigured Future Lenape Consulate challenges traditional power structures by fostering alternative economies and multiplicity. Inspired by the concept of prefigurement, the design encourages systemic shifts through spaces that support cultural and economic exchange. Program elements include areas for ceremony, exhibitions, peer-to-peer consultations, and resource aggregation. The building’s open and transparent layout emphasizes flow—both in terms of physical movement and the exchange of knowledge and resources. Louvered facades mitigate light, while open facades provide views and connectivity, symbolizing transparency in economic and social processes. Grounded in indigenous practices and economic sovereignty, the Lenape Consulate critiques capitalist exploitation while proposing new forms of communal resilience. It serves as a functional and symbolic space for systemic change, embracing multiplicity and leveraging small interventions to create broader social and economic impacts.