Architecture is often viewed as a static outcome; one that represents a freeze-frame of interests, needs, and availability of resources. There is room for an architecture that can transform itself and adjust to the needs of its community over time, thus building a sense of community equity and agency in its assembly and disassembly. This civic center, located in Edgemere, Queens, seeks to create an infrastructure that enables a reconfigurable and adaptable commons that focuses on providing access and support to community members. Built incrementally with waste bricks made from construction and demolition waste, spaces are organized around an infrastructural spine that delineates access to water and gas on site. While the spine is meant to provide the most basic access and utilities, residents and community members are encouraged to graft onto the spine and reconfigure spaces as their needs change.
