Lebbeus Woods. Undercurrents—The Storm / Turbulence

Undercurrents brings together two projects by Lebbeus Woods—The Storm (2001–2002) and Turbulence (1991–1992)—united by a shared vision of intangible forces acting upon space. Re-presented by A83 in collaboration with the Estate of Lebbeus Woods, they are examples of the conceptual and methodological undercurrents of much of the architect's work. The exhibition reflects on the continued impact of Woods' contributions to the field of architecture: his unparalleled abilities to describe, interpret, and labor within complex and often violent cultural and environmental systems.

Turbulence is a series of drawings produced between 1991 and 1992. In it, Woods suggests that the construction of a ground contains enough noise that it could be collaged in multiple configurations to produce difference; as a framing device for figures, it holds the power to absorb them into a seamless whole. Yet that seamlessness exists only on the surface. Viewed from the verso, the seemingly flat image reveals its tectonic logic: evidence of cutting, taping, and repositioning becomes legible, bringing the viewer closer to the method of assembly and the interplay between the original and the copy. For Woods, the act of making multiples was itself a drawing tool.

The Storm was installed one and only once as a spatial construction at The Cooper Union's Houghton Gallery in 2002. Like Turbulence, it is built on multiplicity. Red wooden rods, fabricated by Shandor Hassan and suspended within a post-tensioned cable system, dramatically interrupted the interior, producing a highly charged field of vectors caught in a moment of equilibrium. Assembled by Alexander Gil and Amir Shahrokhi, the installation was orchestrated by Woods; he produced a large wall drawing as The Storm took shape around him. The relationship between the drawing and the spatial field was one of call and response, each acting and reacting to the other in an evolving, symbiotic exchange.

In the A83 2026 exhibition, curators Owen Nichols and Clara Syme introduce new ways of seeing the two projects and offer visitors a unique view into the creative process. A close reading of Woods' constructed fields, Undercurrents reveals how conceptual generators can translate across mediums.