ErikaLindsay
packard
DEQUINDRE CUT BELLE ISLE
RENNAISANCE CENTER
PACKARD PLANT
MICHIGAN CENTRAL
FLICKR DEQUINDRE CUT
INTERNET ATTENTION FACTOR
BELLE ISLE RENNAISANCE CENTER
MASS MOCA BILBAO PRADA TOKYO PACKARD PLANT
MICHIGAN CENTRAL
PRADA TOKYO
MASS MOCA
PACKARD PLANT GOOGLE TRENDS INSTAGRAM FLICKR
BILBAO
INTERNET ATTENTION FACTOR: DETROIT ICONS INSTAGRAM FLICKR
Hailing as a part of Detroit’s automotive history, but outside of the historically dominant automakers in the region (Chrysler, Ford, General Motors ), the Packard Automotive Plant has reached a state of iconic status as a symbol of the industrial culture which built the city of Detroit. At the beginning of this century, it was imagined that iconography could boost the image of a city as a means to draw upon the global economy and the ensuing tourist attention capable of placing midscale cities on the map. Many cities followed suit, achieving this through the investment of resources into production of such an iconographic identity. In Detroit, this iconography has been produced as a consequence of economic extraction. Ironically, Detroit’s unsolicited monument draws as much attention as a project like the Guggenheim in Bilbao. It is within this mediatized value that opportunities lie. As the largest abandoned industrial site in the United States (nearly 40 acres and about one mile long), it is sought out by weekend ruins enthusiasts, enterprising scrappers,
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left: 1 rooftop view of penthouse 2 scraper’s landscape; view from penthouse 3 long view; third floor 4 morning view from southeast building
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5 rooftop view of water tower + emergent landscape across east grand blvd. 6 morning light in southeast building
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
research
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far left: iconicity; packard bridge at night. powered with generators.
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history buffs, overseas tourists, out of town reporters, photographers, graffiti artists, skateboarders, scavenging jewelry makers, film crews and the trickle of clients that the stillfunctioning electro-plating facility serves from time to time. As the Packard has slowed its automotive production, emptied of its economic viability, it has in turn increased its cultural production and become economically unviable; so much so that even demolition is too costly. Of particular interest is the intersection between cultural memory and memorialized ruin, as it relates specifically to the Packard, its importance as cultural icon (evidenced by its popularity as both subject and backdrop of ongoing cultural production), and its growing importance as an unintentional monument. As a remnant of past occupation, the Packard operates as a reminder of a former age, and of our industrial past. In order to understand public opinion outside of the mainstream media’s bias toward demolition, a number of unconventional primary sources were
consulted. These sources include, social media, internet forums and image agglomeration sites which I believe convey information about public perception and current use. This information is of specific interest, as it has not been curated by a singular entity in order to produce a specific affect or relay a succinct message about the Packard plant. Built icons of Detroit, as imaged and comodified, fuel changes in perception and begin to take on new significance in the cultural milieu of place. In the research that I have conducted, this sense of aligning oneself within the collective shows up in the digital stream of data feeds such as Instagram. One part mobile imaging, one part social media platform, Instagram utilizes hashtags, which allows the images to be grouped by content for later searches. The bottom line: if I want to show up in the constant data stream in a specific way, I can. Whether I take images of the buildings or images of people in the Packard, it becomes a digital way of rendering explicit the fact that you were there. Acting as a means of
establishing immediate credibility to everyone who sees the image. Hailing as the largest abandoned industrial structure in the country, the Packard Plant is roughly one mile long, its 3.5 million square feet sprawling over a site of 40 acres. The tallest structure on the site is a seven story building. In varying states of decay, its structures deteriorate slowly, with the help of the elements, scrappers and vandals. A product of the freeze thaw cycle in Michigan, concrete cracks and erodes as bricks tumble. Scrappers hack away at the structure, beam by beam, while entire chunks of building fall. This is not a static ruin. An active landscape shaped by many forces, the majority of the Packard stands structurally sound, having been overbuilt by a factor of safety three times that of contemporary standards. The emergent scrapping economy which has cropped up around Detroit’s abandonment is elucidated at the Packard. With a scrap yard only a half mile away, where steel is purchased at 250 dollars per ton, it is no wonder the Packard Plant is undergoing a kind of erosive demolition. As this erosion
far left: packard exhibition
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left: 1 exhibition; build your own rendering 2 exhibition; model and living room furniture in packard penthouse 3 setting up for exhibition in the penthouse
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4 meta discussion about the packard in front of the model in the penthouse 5 architectural intervention in stairwell [photo credit: mercedes mejia]
6 packard model; modes of dreaming
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
exhibition
continues uncontrolled, the cost of demolition of the Packard Plant has reached an estimated 20 million. Typically, demolition costs are offset by the extraction of valuable materials such as steel, copper and even concrete which can be reclaimed and recycled. In the case of the Packard, the site has been far too devalued. As this capital is extracted, it provides a temporary source of income to those who can no longer find jobs and do not wish to leave Detroit. The ironic twist; those who choose to make a living scrapping are in effect freelancing the slow demolition of structures on the site. With the possibility of making 700 dollars a day and ability to make his own hours, one enterprising scrapper told us that he feels it is the best job. One of the other scrappers we spoke with mentioned that he heaves the heavy sections of steel beam off the roof where he works, sure to call out to those below before throwing the hulking mass over the edge. In order to efficiently cut the beams, he uses a welding torch, the lines draped over what remains of the wall, cascading down and terminating
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left: 1 conservation league member unpacking on the third floor of the packard
[photo credit: mercedes mejia]
2 exhibition; card wall system 3 view of east grand blvd. from the bridge; tour in progress, marker in the distance 4 penthouse furniture 5 rooftop discussion
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6 collection point + marker; hardhats and beginning of tour right: exhibition in the penthouse of the packard
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all photos courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
at his truck, which he leaves parked one level below his rooftop work site. Access is provided by a ramp at the end of the site, where cars used to roll down from the top floor, completing the manufacturing process. Within the Packard site, there have been seven species of plants identified, many of which are naturally inclined to acidic soil and some which remediate soil from the aftermath of industry, including heavy metals such as lead. Beyond the plants which inhabit this unattended landscape, we can begin to look at the Packard as a model for the rest of the deindustrializing world. If the third landscape is everything that does not play a role (the post-industrial and other marginalized sites), but aspires to something (possibility). It is within that something that the Packard can begin to be seen with promise of future potential. Research conducted as part of the conservation practicum in 2013 at Taubman College of Architecture and showcased as an exhibition. Text excerpted from Packard: Cultural Memory and Memorialized Ruin written by Erika Lindsay in 2013.
conjoined 1
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far left: installation lit at night. powered with generators. left: 1-6 dreaming in fabric; stretch fabric studies
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
Conjoined was a collaboration with Sarah Barett. As site specific tensile fabric installation which visually bridges a small stream, it was completed as part of a structures course and design studio at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. Perhaps it was built for two people who split apart on a trail and go walking alone; only to find themselves back together again, drawn to this place where the stream bends and a crooked tree hangs above. It may also be for the solo walker, who encounters one side and must know what lies on the other side, making way, across the stream by whatever means possible. Initially, a tensile fabric structure is form-found; this is a means of designing an anticlastic form which will give the most efficient shape given specific amounts of tension in the fabric, cables and surrounding supports. In the past, this was carried out in a purely analog way, using stretch fabrics, screen, wire, nails, and string. Today, programs such as Rhino Membrane are used to “relax� a model consisting of a system of
far left: installation; tensioning in progress
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left: 1 cable net loops 2 joining the panels; sewing the edges 3 crimping cable net loops to proper length 4 early model utilizing rings instead of cable nets
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5 lining up the edge and reinforcing 6 closeup of stitching, grommets and cable net loop
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
fabrication + DESIGN
surfaces, anchor points, cables, struts and masts with a series of variables and commands which yield various final forms. Once form-finding is complete, the final form must be patterned in order to be rendered in non-stretch fabric, or any other rigid material such as sheet metal. Once paneled, the original forms, though once anticlastic, are now rendered as flat pieces, the curvature of the overall form becoming apparent as these patterned flat pieces are brought together. The piece was pre-fabricated in studio. All panels were sewn together, each piece had scalloped edges reinforced with PTFE glass fiber material to strengthen the form. Along with the forms, all the three cable nets were pre-fabricated in studio, transported to site and erected in as little time as possible, performing all anchoring, tweaking and prestressing on site, in order to tension the fabric to a point that it resists deflection under live load cases, such as wind and snow loads.
right: day lit image of final installation
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left: 1 detail of catenary curve on opening 2 detail of connection between cable net and anchor 3 turnbuckle in tension
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4 installation; pieces hang suspended prior to tensioning and ground anchoring 5 installation; ground anchoring and tensioning in progress 6 installation; final tensioning
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
far left: exhibition overview
[photo credit: catie newell]
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left: 1 exhibition interior; making friends [photo credit: nico saieh]
2 exhibition corner; site double
[photo credit: catie newell]
3 exhibition elevation; unlit in foreground [photo credit: nico saieh]
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fabrication
grounds for detroit
Grounds for Detroit was a collaboration between Ellie Abrons, Adam Fure, James Graham, Meredith Miller, Thom Moran, Catie Newell, Rosalyne Shieh, and Troy Schaum. I translated and patterned a full scale fabric copy of the house at 13178 Moran in Detroit, Michigan from a 3D conceptual model. With the help of a small team, I sewed pavilions to represent each room of the house, performed fit tests and designed instruction sheets for the resulting on site assembly. The installation traveled to the 2012 Venice Biennale. In the words of David Chipperfield, the Director of the 2012 architecture exhibition; “This room is a collaboration between five young architecture practices whose work is a piece of action research, responding to one of the most serious issues for western cities today: that of shrinkage and urban vacancy. The city of Detroit is the most often cited example of this phenomenon, the population dwindling as heavy industries that once provided employment and social cohesion disappear.
These architects did not wait to be asked for their point of view on the city’s problems, but sought a place to work in this unique urban context. The five bought a derelict house on Moran Street, Detroit for $500 and set to work, transforming the house into a location for their experiments. They have re-imagined them in the Arsenale, evoking at 1:1 the space of the Moran Street house. In addition, the architects have selected a collection of work from and on the subject of Detroit that embodies the spirit of common ground. This is a project that shows how young architects’ resourcefulness can find new grounds for collaboration and experiment, and that the work of architects does not require bureaucratic sanction to make a meaningful contribution.”
right: pattern + insruction sheets for assembly of pavilions A-H
Research Administration building Semester-long study and documentation of the Research Administration Building at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren Michigan for inclusion in the Library of Congress as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) collection . Site work included field notes; documentation of curtain wall system, elevation and details as well as photography and surveying using a TotalStation. Lab work included creating measured drawings and rectified images. Work was completed as part of studies in the MS Conservation program in a group of eight. Research conducted focused on
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bottom: general motors research administration building south elevation rectified image: Gorham Bird, James Chesnut, Razieh Gorbani, Erika Lindsay, William Martin, Hannah Hunt Moeller, Catharine Pyenson + Christopher Reznich.
technology behind the sandwich panels used in Sarrinen’s curtain wall system. The panels designed and utilized in the curtain wall system of the buildings of the GM Technical Center represent an innovative postwar use of retooled industry. Adapting existing technologies developed during the Second World War, the panels’ unique design integrates aircraft sandwich panel techniques with porcelain enameled steel, fusing them into a solution ready for the building industry. Two technological innovations are integral to the design of Saarinen’s porcelain enameled sandwich panel. First, the honeycomb core aspect of the sandwich panel of this system can be traced back to wartime research and development of a lightweight, rigid and extremely durable material for use in military aircraft. Satisfying the structural needs of the curtain wall system, the panels were; lightweight, insulating and able to withstand the elements. The adaptation of aircraft technology was a perfect fit for the lightness required of Saarinen’s design. Porcelain enamel as a method
of coating, had been widely used for industrial applications since the late nineteenth century. Cast iron products were among some of the most popular forms of iron to be found enameled. Sheet steel could also be enameled, but needed to be very thick to guard against possible warping, as temperatures for enameling were very high. Porcelain enameled steel was used heavily in military applications ranging from canteens to tank armor. As war effort advances in coating technology led to new processes utilizing lower temperatures, thinner sheets of metal could be enameled more economically. This enabled the widespread use of porcelain enamel in new areas, such as the consumer market and led to its use as an integral component in Saarinen’s curtain wall system. Use of the sandwich panel and steel frame in building can be dated back to the mid-thirties. Existing panels were much heavier and less insulating, hence the reason for a combination of technologies - one responding to lightness (aircraft) and
right: general motors research administration building south elevation bays 65-70 measured drawing overlay on rectified image.
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
the other durability (defense). It is these improvements upon the existing panels, which makes Saarinen’s panels much better suited for building. However, Saarinen wasn’t alone in crossing disciplinary boundaries to improve building technology. Inspired by the automotive industry, General Houses, Inc. produced prefabricated steel homes. Kelly mentions in his book; “General Houses was to design, coordinate and assemble standard parts to be produced for it by a number of prominent specialists.” Acting much like an auto manufacturer, General Houses had a set number of suppliers furnishing parts for their systems. Featured at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, the General Houses Inc. House was an entirely steel prefabricated design. In 1936, load bearing steel panels, such as those used in General House’s design, made way for a steel frame system utilizing early sandwich panels comprised of; cement asbestos sheet as exterior finish, with insulation and plywood to act as interior finish. Only a few hundred of these homes were manufactured, as the interior of the
panels had condensation problems. In the end, wood frame construction employing gypsum board was determined to be the better choice for fast home fabrication and General House shifted its building model away from steel. In building, the use of porcelain enamel panels was first applied to gas station construction prior to the end of the second World War by The Porcelain Products Company. This panel technology was later adapted into an interlocking system, designed by Carl Strandlund. Strandlund, a former employee of The Porcelain Products Company, further adapted his panels for use in prefab home construction after postwar steel shortages threatened the country’s supply and made its use limited to the booming housing market. The Lustron House became a means of reducing cost and saving time through the innovative use of interlocking enamel panels designed by Strandlund. Design for the General Motors Technical Center began amidst difficulties of the same period, beginning in 1944. Building started
with the site being cleared in 1945 and continued until 1955 when the campus was completed. During this time, United States Plywood Corp is listed among manufacturers which make (commercial or experimental) core materials, featured in a study by the Munitions Board Aircraft Committee in 1951. US Plywood is also the company that manufactured the porcelain enamel panels designed by Saarinen and used in the construction of the GM Technical Center. It is unclear how research and design work was conducted in Saarinen’s office, but the link between the aircraft industry and the final panel design is rendered apparent through US Plywood. Military research and development into a sandwich panel with a honeycomb core fit for flight not only led to a lightweight design, but panels which could withstand high impact and severe weather; all achieved through rigorous testing. Per the American Society for Testing Materials, a sandwich panel is, “a laminar construction comprising a combination of alternating dissimilar
simple or composite materials assembled and intimately fixed in relation to each other so as to use the properties of each to attain specific structural advantages for the whole assembly.� Among components used for testing the core were; glass-fabric with polyester plastic, synthetic rubber, balsa wood, kraft paper as well as resin-treated paper. Further reasons for use of a honeycomb core include dimensional stability and strength to weight ratio, important aspects for aircraft design which translate well to an exterior curtain wall component which must withstand the elements. Through testing, the R-value of the paper core was found to be increased by filling the honeycomb with insulation, just as the panels at the GM Tech Center were manufactured.
The panels as designed and installed are two inches thick, with 20-18 gauge porcelain enameled sheet steel on both interior and exterior panel faces. The core utilizes a honeycomb technology made of kraft paper filled with a non-combustable insulating fill. The design of the Tech Center buildings also utilize Kaylo panels for some applications as well as concrete porcelain enameled steel panels, specific to shop buildings. It would seem that Saarinen’s innovative panels weave an interesting story. Born of the aircraft industry, produced by a plywood company with postwar enameling technology brought about by a steel shortage and translated for use in a curtain wall system for an automotive campus. It really is no wonder that the panels have endured for as long as they have and will continue to do so.
right: general motors research administration building south facade bays 60-70 field note bottom: general motors research administration building south elevation measured drawing as drawn by: Gorham Bird, James Chesnut, Razieh Gorbani, Erika Lindsay, William Martin, Hannah Hunt Moeller, Catharine Pyenson + Christopher Reznich.
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
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far left: general motors research administration building south elevation. bays 6065 for Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) left: 1 sandwich panel diagram [patent publiciation: US8334042 B2]
2 sandwich panel testing, strategically applied load.
[G.E. Sherwood Research Paper FPL 144. USDA]
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3 enamel technology + aircraft sandwich panel technology produces gm technical center panels 4 de havilland mosquito bomber [wikipedia: NACA 1945]
5 sandwich panels general motors research administration building south elevation bays 59-70
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
object design left: blades porcelain vessels + stoneware base right: ikebana vase; porcelain
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
right: tripod lamp; bent wire + handmade paper far right: 1 heavy CMU interior, with plywood ribs + acrylic inlays 2 socket vacuum formed plastic tea light dish
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted
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spomenik project
far left: Jassenovac memorial in Croatia; former site of a WWII concentration camp
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left: 1 Maklijen memorial in Bosnia and Herzegovina; shed its skin in explosion 2 Petrova Gora monument in Croatia; overgrowth and stripped facade 3 Partisan memorial cemetery in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; overgrown
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4 Kosmaj monument in Serbia; commemorates partisan detachment of WWII 5 Tjentiste monument in Sutjeska National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 Jassenovac memorial in Croatia; site of active remembrance
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
The research I conducted is concerned with Partisan monuments (spomenik) in former Yugoslavia. Erected over the span of twenty years before Josip Tito’s death and just prior to Yugoslavia’s disintegration, the spomenik currently epitomize a gradient of decay, some fixed while others are in a state of rapid degradation at a critical point for conservation efforts. As these sites decay at different rates and through varied means, I trace the modes in which these contradictory and semantically charged sites function in the present. It is both in response to and in spite of contemporary preservation efforts that questions of cultural significance begin to surface. While memorials are built for longevity, there is potential during their lifespan to signify something quite different than that which they were built to represent. I have framed this research as it relates to contemporary conservation practice. Through initial research as part of my studies in Conservation, I learned that very little academic writing exists on the subject in english,
and even less has been written on these monuments from a conservation perspective. I am excited by the opportunity to bring the specificity of this subject matter to a new audience and through a new lens; to an englishspeaking audience from a conservation perspective. To better apprehend the cultural context of this critical moment for conservation efforts, I traveled alone and focused on the geographical regions directly surrounding the monuments. Considering the dispersed and rural nature of these monument sites, travel by car was necessary. Sites were selected based upon proximity to one another, timeframe and relationship to the theoretical framework proposed. The Spomenik at Maklijen, Petrova Gora, Illinden and Jasenovac were used as initial case studies. Following the knowledge gained from the initial research, I visited the following sites in order to further understand the constellation of monuments; Petrova Gora, Korenica, Jasenovac, Makljen,Mostar, Kosmaj and Tjentiste.
right: Kosmaj monument in Serbia; graffiti
all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
In my afternoon long attempt to find Korenica I found nothing but an empty field. I later found that what little of the original monument remained had been removed. Building upon research commenced as part of studies in the Conservation Master of Science program at Taubman College and following presentation and publication of the research in progress at the International Forum La Vie dei Mercanti XI: Heritage, Architecture, LanDesign, this field work seeks to provide contemporary understanding of the sites as they exist today, engaged in a critical state of rapid change, remembering that it is often our recent past which is most at risk. Though these monuments were built little more than half a century ago, many sit in a state of disrepair, some forgotten, others barely maintained; all transforming alongside the culture from which they have manifested.
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far left: Partisan memorial cemetery in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; overgrown, littered and filled with graffiti left: 1 Jassenovac memorial in Croatia 2 Kosmaj monument in Serbia; active site of commemoration 3 Partisan memorial cemetery in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; overgrown
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4 Tjentiste monument in Sutjeska National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina; active site of commemoration 5 Petrova Gora monument in Croatia; stripped facade 6 Maklijen memorial in Bosnia and Herzegovina; bare structure amid tall grass
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
left: 1 Tjentiste monument in Sutjeska National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina; visitors
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2 Jassenovac memorial in Croatia; interior space 3 Maklijen memorial in Bosnia and Herzegovina; site of graffiti 4 Partisan memorial cemetery in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; wild grasses and manicured trees 5 Kosmaj monument in Serbia; cast concrete forms
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6 Jassenovac memorial in Croatia; monument and landscape right: Petrova Gora monument grounds in Croatia; active site of commemoration
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all images courtesy of the designer unless otherwise noted.
Thank you for looking! I can be reached at: hello@erikalindsay.com + 313.510.8232 Further work can be viewed online at: www.erikalindsay.com Erika Lindsay