Encouraged to produce an architectural gesture that defines permanence, this project tackles the subject of
memory and traces of place-making on water.
Marks of time are often evidently left on land, but any movement on a water’s surface disappears moments later.
The east river islands materialize out of a lack of place or activity on the east river, and grow to solidify over time, becoming places of their own.
memory and traces of place-making on water.
Marks of time are often evidently left on land, but any movement on a water’s surface disappears moments later.
The east river islands materialize out of a lack of place or activity on the east river, and grow to solidify over time, becoming places of their own.
The tides, traffic, and development on the East River define the initial interventions: simple floating platforms of concrete sponge anchored to the riverbed. As the edges are washed or eroded away, the static portions serve as a host for marine life and sedimentation, which overtime will cement the islands into place. The constantly changing forms provide visual and inhabitable evidence of the life of the river, and the expansion of the city.
Historical maps of the river overlayed with current built mass show the unchanging waterscape.
Mapping the changes of the shoreline over time and with the changing tides.
When transportation routes are mapped on the river, the residual space becomes potential for intervention.
Intervention opportunities and transport route additions.
Both anchored and floating platforms will form an ever-shifting visual record of the activity both above and below the river's surface.
Sugar and salt crystals grown on sea sponges mimic the growth of marine life on the concrete platforms.
Initially, the small islands will be micro-habitats for the flora and fauna of the river. As they grow, they can host a number of programs.
Squats, disaster relief, private parties, art exhibits.
Infrastructure, wind farms, water filtration, solar energy farms, fish/oyster farming.
Concerts, festivals, large scale sculpture parks, construction prototyping or assembly sites.
The East River Islands will cultivate life both above and below the water's surface
