FUTURE DAYS OF PAST NICHOLAS A. WAN
ARCHITECTURAL THESIS 2011-2012 TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, TYLER SCHOOL OF ART ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER Brooklyn Daily Eagle ¬ 17 June 1904
List of Dead and Missing
ALFELD, Anna ANGER, Charles A. ANGER ANGER, Minnie ARMBRUST, Barbara ABENDSCHEIN, Marie AUGUR, Rose ALBRECHT, Selma ACKERMAN, Lena ACKERMAN, Mrs. ADDICKS, Margaret ALBRECHT ALTER, Sofia ANGER, Rose ANSEL, Alfred ARMAND, Lillian ARMBOUST, Barbara BRETZ, Mary BRAUN, Mollie BAUMAN, Magdine BELUNKEN, Anne BLOHM, Anne BLOHM, Margaret BUNHARDI, Anne BRUNNING, John BERG, Lena BRENNING, Annie BERRENS, Augusta BERNHORDI, Annie BUCHHEIDT, Mrs. Anna BIRMINGHAM, Catherine BOZEUBARR, Emily BECKER, Theodore BALSER, Catherine BECKMAN, Anna BREHER, Kate BAHR, Ida A. BAKER, Catherine BARDENLOW BAUMLER, Anna BEHRENS, Alice BECK, Mrs. Christina BECKMAN, Mrs. Annie BEHRENS BEHRANDT, Elizabeth BEHRANDT, Fannie BELL, Agnes BENSCH, Mary BENTZ, Arthur BERDOLT, Mrs. Gussie BERNHARDT, Anna BOHM, Dora BORGER, Pauline BOZENHERD, Lucille BOZENHERD, Emily BRAKE, Mary BRAUCKE, Gradiel BREDA, Minnie BRETZ, Elsie BROCKS, Margaret BRUNNING, Annie BURFEIND, Dora
CAHILL, Anna CHRIST, Amelia CLOUST, Minnie COHRS, Freda COLIOS, Freda CORDES, Henrietta CORDIS, Mrs. Kate L. CORMAN, Minnie CRAMER, Barbara DEISSMAN, Lena DIECKHOFF, Annie DIECKHOFF, Willie DRECIOES, Catherine DRECIOES, Mrs. Freda DERSCH, Helen DANERHEIM DANCERNICKEIL, Mrs. Henry DEEK, Frank DELUCCIE, Agnes DIEDERICH, Emma DIECKHOFF, Marie DIECKHOFF, Edward DORRHOEFER, Frederick DOERRING, Gustave DREIVERS, Catharine DREIVERS, Freda DREHER, John DREHER, Katherine DUNN, Arthur DUNN, Julia DUK, Pauline EHRBARD, Minnie EICKHOFF, William ENGELMAN, Louise ENGLEMAN, William EYSEL, Jennie EIMER, Kate ELLAR, Matilda ELLAR, Elsie ELICK, Elizabeth ELK, Addie ENGELMAN, Lena ERHART, Minnie EYSEL, Julia
GAMBERG, Henry GUSTENBERGER, James GALEWSKI, Marris GARDES, Christina GARDES, Henrietta GESSMAN, Lena GERDES, Mrs. Margaret GEMEIMER GERMAN, Freda M. GERSTENBERGER, Annie GEISSER, Louis GEMEIMER, William GILLIS, Charles GILLIS, George GIBBONS, Margaret GIBBONS, Mary GIBBONS, Ella GOETZ, Leone GOETZ, Catharine GOETZ, Margaret GOETZ, Albert GRAF, Charlotte GRAFFLING, Lillie GRAVES, Fred GRESS, Elizabeth GRESS, Walter GROSS, Bruno GRAFF, Elsie GROWALD, Elsie GROLKA, Amelia GROLKA, Olga HAUSLER, Augusta HERNBERG, George HERNBERG, Arthur HOAG, Susie HORWAY, Cortlandt HEDENKAMP, John HEHL, Gus HEWKEN, Charles HOFFMAN, Sylvia HEIMS, Henrietta HERMAN, Katie HEINS, Frank HOORWAY, Johanna HAAS, Annie HELLER, Christina HEDENKAMP, Margaret HEERZ, Mrs. M. HORWAY, Johanna HORWAY, Delia HAAG, William HAGENBRUCKER, Mary HARDEKOPF, Meta HARRMAN, Emily HARTMAN, Mrs. Mary M.T. HARTUNG, Frances HARTUNG, Elsie HARTUNG, Mildred HAVEMEYER, William HECKERT, Julia HEERZ, Mrs. M. HEGG, Barbara HEINTZE, Johanna HEIDENKAMP, John HEIDENKAMP, Margaret HEIDENKAMP, John HEINS, Annie HEINS, Mrs. Annie HELIER, Christina HELLER, Christina HENER, Dora HENER, Dora HENER, Herman HENRY, Sadie HENZLER, August HERMAN, Louise
HERMIS, Annie HETTRICK, Robert HEWES, Annie HOFFMAN, Raymond HOFFMAN, Sylvia HOFFMAN, Mrs. Cecelia HOLDER, Mary HORWAY, Carl IDEN, Grace IDEN, Minnie IRWIN, Fannie JONK, Bertha JOSEPH, Frank JUST, Leontine KALG, Gussie KELCH, Katie KLATBAUR, George KOLB, Madeline KOLIDER, Henry KOPF, Mrs. Lizzie KOHLER, Henry KLEIN, Emma KOPF, Ellis KALB, Gussie KALSH, Kate KESSLER, Augusta KIESEL, Lillian KING, Catherine KLEIN, Mina KLEIN, Elizabeth KLEIN, Kate KLINE, Nancy KLATBUR, John H. KLENHANZ, Caroline KLENNER, Ethel KLENNER, Meta KLEUCK, Charles KLEUCK, Bertha KLEUCK, Minnie KNOEFFLER, John KOHLER, Henry KOPPLER, Irene KOWCZUSKI, Theodore KRAFF, Louise KRAMER, Barbara KRAUTWARST, Anna KROFFT, Louise KUBERA, August KUCHER, Margaret KUCHER, Katherine KUNZ, Gussie
MAYER, Mrs. Louise MC LAUGHLIN, Michael MEYER, Albert, Jr. MICHEL, Carrie MULLER, Rose MULLER, Mrs. Herman MULLER, Helen MULLER, Flora MILLER, Valessa MORRIS, Kate MUSEKA, Anna MOELLER, Henry MILLER, Elizabeth MERSELES, Matilda MOELLER, Mrs. Matilda MC GRANE, Michael MOTZER, Mrs. Anna MUELLER, Mrs. B. MEIKE, Daisy MAYER, Mrs. Louise MICHEL, William MARSHALL, Daniel MARTH, Anna MATTHES, Elizabeth MANHEIMER, Lillie MANHEIME, Mamie MAURER, George MAURER, Clara MAURER, Catherine MAURER, Clara MAURER, Tillie MAY, Mrs. Lottie MAYER, Frances MEDDLEN, Robert MEDDLEN, Frederick MEINHARDT, John MEINHARDT, Walter G. MENDEL, Arthur MENINGER, Lizzie MEININGER, Lizzie MENNINGER, Lizzie MESKE, Mrs. Charles MEYER, Elise MEYER, Kate MEYER, Elsie MEYERS, Elizabeth MICHAEL, Carrie MICHAELS, Margaret MICHAELS, CarrieMILLER, Flora MILLER, Herman MILLER, Helen MILLER, Edward MICKSEL, Carrie MULLER, IreneMULLER, Mrs. Bernhardt MULLER, Annie MUTH, Kate MUTH, Mrs. Anna MORRIS, Catherine MOLLITER, Mrs. Mary MULLER, FlorenceMOLITAN, Margaret
OCHLER OTTINGER, Arthur OTTINGER, Emma OTTINGER, Charles PAULI, Katie PATTENBAUM, Herman PRAWDYSKI, Henrietta PAULI, Elsie PULLMAN, William PATTENBAUM, Elizabeth PATTENBAUM PETERS, Lena PETERS, Helen PFEIFFER, Lillian PIENING, Dora PORT, Henry POLIUSCH, Olga PRAWDZRSKI, Gertrude PRAWDZRSKI, Annie PROBST, Kate RICHTER, Lena RICHTER, Tessie REICHENBACK, Herman RUTHINGER, Ernest REKANSKI, Wanda RUTHMAYER, Mrs. Vetta ROTH, Mrs. Josephine ROSENAGEL, Annie ROTHENBERG, Miss Annie REULING, Emma ROTH, Helen ROTH, Miss Emily RAMELKAMP, Stella RAMUS, Irving RENSLY, Emma RHEINFRANK, John RICE, Lizzie RICHTER, Annie RICHTER, Amelia, Sr. RICHTER, Amelia, Jr. RICHTER, August RICHTER, Lizzie RICHTER, Lizzie, Sr. RICHTER, Fred RICHTER, Lillie RICHTER RICHTER, Catherine RIESS, Catherine RITZ, TessieRITZ ROBERTS, Clara A. ROSE, Anna ROSE, Addie ROTTERMAN, Hanna ROTHMANN, Mrs. Emily ROTHENBERGER, Annie ROSENBERGER, Mary RUTLINGER, Meta
SEIDENWARD, Henry SACKMAN, Margaret SANDERS, Helen SCHIRMER, Bertha SCHIRMER, Lena SCHIRMER, William SCHEELE, Lavinia SCHMIDT, Annie SCHMIDT, Martha SCHMIDT, Freda SCHNEIDER, EvaSCHNEIDER, Louise SCHMITT, Sophia SCHMIDT, Josephine SCHMEDLING, George SCHMEDLING, Emily SCHOTT, Carrie SCHAEFFER, William SCHAEFFER, Annie SCHRENEMANN, John SCHOEMANN, Mrs. SCHOETT, Helen SCHOENINGER, Gottlieben SCHUMACHER, Catharine Louise SCHOENINGER, Mrs. SCHNITTINGER, Freda SCHIER, Julia SCHEUER, Mrs. Margaret SCHEUER, Julia SCHULER, Charles SCHULER, Frederick SCHRUMPF, William SCHRUMPF, John SCHRUMPF, William SCHICK, Minnie SCHNITZERLANG, Elizabeth SCHMIDT, Katie SCHULTZ, Emma SCHULTZ, Rudolph SCHULTZ, Henry G. SCHULTZ SCHLAEFER, William H. SCHMEDE, William SCHNITZLER, Kate SHERF, Mary SIEDERWAND, Henry SIEWART, Phoebe SIERRICH SIEGMOND, Annie SIEGMOND SIEFERT, Henry SMITH, Mrs. Annie SMITH, Mamie SMITH, Edward SMITH, Fannie SPRECKTER, Elsie STEGER, Annie STRICKRODT, Anne STONE, Minnie STAHLMAN, Viola SUDEN, Margaret SUDEN, Herman STEIN, Carrie STENGER, Rose STAHL, Emanuel STOSS, Minnie STOSS, Edna STOLZ, Bessie STALMAN, Augusta
In memory of the thousands who have perished on North Brother Island
THURMABLOU, Matilda TIMM, Hedwig TIMM, Henrietta THOMA, Henry THOMA, Joseph TRAPPING, Lillian TYSON, John THORMAHLOR, Matilda THOMA, Christiana TORNIPORT, Francis TIMM, George TORNIPORT, Charlotte ULLMAN, Mrs. Lena UHLENDORFF, Mrs. Selma ULLMAN, Edward Jr. UHLEIN, Mrs. Minnie UHLENDORFF, Louisa UHLER, Mrs. Minnie ULLMAN, Lena UHLEIN, Otto UNGER, Mrs. Catharine VOLKENBERG, Miss Lucy VETTER, Frederika VETTER, Margaret WEIDLER, Laura WURNER, Lillian WEISL, Mrs. Caroline WALTER, Mrs. Elizabeth WEHLIEN, Mrs. Minnie WEIDERMAN, Mrs. Caroline WEIS, Emily WEIS, Matilda WEIS, Louis WOLD, Mrs. WOLF, Mrs. Magdalen WEISSO, Emily WURTENERGER, Mary WORKMAN, Jenny A. WIESS, Samuel WEISTER, Mary WARENHOLTZ, Henry WEIVER, Ellen WEISSNER, Carrie WEISE, Willie WARNSTICK, Albert WURTENBERGER, Mamie WOBBE, Henry WOBBE, Marvin WECKER, Daisy WINGERT, Ethel WILNAN, Hannah WEVER, Mamie WEISE, Carolina WEIDLER, Mrs. WEIDMAN WORMSTITCH, Albert WEIDLER, Laura WELTER, Mrs. Elizabeth WEVER, Esther WIERETER, Mary WICKER, Charles WENZ, George
“There are stars whose light only reaches the earth long after they have fallen apart. There are people who’s remembrance gives light in this world, long after they have passed away. This light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow.” -The Talmud
COHRS, Freda CORDES, Fred COHRS, John
FRECH, Charles FRESE, Anna FICKBOHM, Mamie FELDLUSEN, Margaret FOLKE, Dora FROELICH, Mrs. Charles FUNK, Michael FELZKE, Augusta FELZKE, Herman FELZKE, Elizabeth FELMEDEN FLEGENHEIMER, Lena FOELSING, George FOELSING, Fred FOLKA, Anna FRICK, Charles FRESS, Anna FULDHEUSEN, Nicholas GALLAGHER, Veronica GALLAGHER, Walter GETTLER, Caroline GROSS, Emma GIRRCLER, Edith GRAFF, Elsie GADE, Grace GOSSMAN, Michael J. GRUBER, Carrie GATES, Margaret
LAUSCHE, Morris LOEFFLER, Louise LAHN, Dora SCHNITERLANG, Elizabeth LINK, Lottie LINK, Eddie LUBBERT, August LUTJEN, Mrs. Katherine LURIN, Lena LAMBECK, Henry LANE, George LAU, George LEBNOW, Anna Christina LEBUHL, Elizabeth LINDERBAUM, Anna LUBBERT, Charles LUDWIG, George W. LUDWIG, Lillie LUNDELL, Charles, Jr. MAY, Mrs. Charlotte MANHERMER, Mrs. Mary
NORWAY, Carl NOLL, Kate NUNCLE, Arthur NABOTTONY, Louis NEALIS, Elizabeth NETTLER, Albert NETTLER, Fred OEHLER, Mrs. Mary OEHLER, Freda OHL, Carl OTTENGER OTTENGER
SCHNEIDER, Tessie SCHOEFFLING, Maria SMITH, Hildreth SEEMAN, Neta SCHMIDTLING, Anna SCHMIDT, Eva SMITH, Mrs. Mary SPIUZ, Mrs. Augusta SCHUMPF, Mrs. Elizabeth SCHWARTZ, Mrs. Louise SIERICKS, Lott SCHNITZLER, Mrs. Christina SEILER, Kate SPOEHE, Mrs. Susan SCHINDE, Henry C. SCHULTZE, Emma
TODT, Mary TRAPPING, Lillian TREBER, Mrs. Anna TOLLMER, Joseph THURMABLOU THORMAHLOR, Eliad
ZEIGLER, Emily ZIMMERMAN, Hugo ZIPSE, Louise ZIMMERMAN, Augusta ZANSCHE, Mrs. Doris ZINGG, Eugene ZEIGLER, Mrs. Anna ZOUK, Bertha ZIPSE, Albert ZIPSE, Mary
FUTURE DAYS OF PAST A special thank you to Temple University Architecture’s faculty and the class of 2012 for a memorable five years, Professor ‘S.C.’ Jason Austin for an invaluable guidance throughout thesis, my family for their unconditional love and support, and you!
CONTENTS PART ONE: THESIS POSITION
PART TWO: THESIS PROPOSAL
02 Abstract
14 Site
04 Theoretical Foundation
18 Theory to Project Link / Design Methodologies
08 Design Speculation
20 Parameters
24 Terms of Criticism / Methods of Inquiry
26 Design Speculation
PART THREE: DESIGN
32 Introduction
50 Future Repository of Past
34 Site
56 Epilogue
36 Exterior Parasite
38 Interior Parasite
40 Daily Programmatic Cycle
42 Ecological Restoration
ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 1
POSITION DECAY (v.) to decline from a sound or prosperous condition ADDITIVE SUBTRACTION (n.) an act of removing traces of, yielding a greater result
ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 2
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POSITION: ABSTRACT
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1. Riverside Hospital 2. Tuberculosis Pavilion 3. Herons, South Brother Island 4. Aerial, New York City
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ABSTRACT It has been said that architecture directly speaks with the past; that it may reveal the invisible.1 Architecture can achieve this dialogue by rediscovering a dimension that once existed in the premise’s original form; the past.2 At North Brother Island, a sense of past is strongly embedded. Home to the second greatest non-military American disaster and numerous disused buildings that once quarantined New York’s exiled diseased against their will, thousands have perished on the island leaving behind a feeling of unrest. Presently the occasional home to nesting colonies of birds, these birds have migrated to undeveloped South Brother Island in recent years. Yet again North Brother Island is on the cusp of abandonment, presenting the opportunity to reclaim the island for human occupation. At North Brother Island, history must serve as the basis of design. Architect Carlo Scarpa’s emphasis of stratification entails unmixed historical layering, leaving a record as to how the object came into being.3 But what happens when one looks not towards development, but decay? Inversely neglecting to completely restore, one may slow the distance between past and present. One can observe the shedding of layers, unearthing glimpses of what once was.
Successful in achieving the inverse, Sverre Fehn’s Hedmark Museum uses existing structure, attaching glass panels in openings, electing to build within. Similarly Herzog & de Meuron’s Tate Modern renews an existing power station, revitalizing a sector of London. In both cases, it is evident that experiential space can be constructed in the shadow of death.4 At the scope of the building; modifications of interior spaces may create places of display. The remnants of past can be highlighted and felt firsthand, while other spaces may be renovated into exhibition spaces for island relics. Moreover existing buildings as they stand can serve as an expanded set of museum spaces to display the visual memory of past. While there is engaging the existing built forms, how can alternative solutions make apparent intangible conditions of site? Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Blur grasps its site as the medium literally and figuratively, using technological media to amplify the experience of site through conditions otherwise unknown. At the scale of the island, the use of paranormal investigative equipment can extricate a formal presence of those who passed; allowing visitors to decipher the island’s untold past from the deceased.
Successful in achieving the inverse, Sverre Fehn’s Hedmark Museum uses existing structure, attaching glass panels in openings, electing to build within.
Though the city has turned the page on North Brother Island, it has failed to provide a resolution. Using architecture as a means of resolving unsettled history, the human experience of past may speak to the relationship between architecture and time.
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1 Per Olaf Fjeld, Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts (New York: The Montacelli Press, 2009), 286. 2 Per Olaf Fjeld, Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts (New York: The Montacelli Press, 2009), 54. 3 Anne-Catrin Schultz, Carlo Scarpa Layers (London: Edition Axel Menges, 2007), 9.
4 Per Olaf Fjeld, Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts (New York: The Montacelli Press, 2009), 109.
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POSITION: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
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5. New York Public Library Restoration 6. Sverre Fehn, Hedmark Museum
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THEORETICAL FOUNDATION In architectural discourse many acknowledge an inherent relationship between architecture and time, yet it is inadequately represented in design today. Far too often what is concrete solely in the present is embraced, while the intangible context of history is neglected. In reality, it is architecture that reveals to us what is hidden. In the hopes of producing a socially responsible architecture in the present, the key to enriching any site lies within the past. From analyzing the past one unearths why prior development has succeeded, or in most other cases failed. It provides the designer with a character of site, which informs how it should be used today. In the situation that intangible context of past is directly embedded in the physical environment, it provides direction in how to create meaningful experiences of place for the future. In the physical environment, experience and memory exist in layers, both concretely and graphically. Architect Carlo Scarpa’s exploration of stratification entails the separation, excision, and contrast of material layers; leaving a record of how an object came into being. 5 But while Scarpa delves into the expressive qualities of overlay, are there communicative capabilities in reduction? At times overlay achieves the inverse of Scarpa’s desired function by disrupting the decipherable existing, and blurring the reading of the past. In embracing decay, materials run a course of decomposition allowing layers of past to enter into the foreground. With this reemergence comes the presence of what historically once was. Though differed from Scarpa’s approach, similar ambitions may be achieved as decayed spaces may generate a new historical sensibility outside the sentimental agendas
of restoration and revival, reawakening architecture to its lyrical potential. Exploring the communicative capabilities of reduction, it may be unnecessary to weave new work directly into the ongoing dialogue of an evolving fabric. On the contrary, the devolution of a fabric offers a different, potentially more powerful dialogue. With material reduction, there may be great revelation. In highlighting historical spatial qualities through reduction, one must also look towards the reuse of the buildings that house the experiential spaces of past. Shifting from the fine scope of material layers to that of the building, the embrace of decay is less applicable. But must one choose between neglectful reduction and altering intervention? Sverre Fehn’s Hedmark Museum indicates that one needs not fully commit to either approach. The museum continues to use existing walls as the structural element, simply attaching glass panels in the moments of decay throughout the facades. Within the museum some objects demand a continuation of history, as time becomes artwork. Jewelry is placed upon leather to evoke the warmth of human skin and a drinking glass is placed on a glass shelf by window to expose its material identity. Specific material situations foster these historical relics, which enhance the visitor’s ability to read the past. Avoiding added stratification and kitsch restoration, modest intervention can serve as a successful mode in slowing the gap between past and present, without freezing the object in time. A reuse aided by a materially-specific intrusion can call to attention a building’s visual ability to communicate history.
_______________________ 5 Anne-Catrin Schultz, Carlo Scarpa Layers (London: Edition Axel Menges, 2007), 16.
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POSITION: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
Though vital strategies in experiencing the past, the period of reduction and reuse is finite. Upon the death of both material and building, renewal can remake apparent the important element of historical expressivity. But how does one create invigorated space in the shadow of death and decay? Is there a particular program which may highlight the expressive qualities that have long existed within a particular building? Herzog & de Meuron’s Tate Modern is the conversion of a disused power station into a modern art gallery, revitalizing a cultural node in London. It channels the energy of the past for purposes in the present, celebrating original structure and form. 6 This approach of renewal and program of museum is certainly applicable to the historical disused, though which particular theme of display is to be considered. In the renewal of a building which has a richer historical context than the Tate Modern, exhibition should speak towards past rather than the contemporary. Renewing the building in a manner that engages the pre-existing form coupled with the exhibition of past items of place can continue the communication of history. As reduction, reuse, and renewal beckons the departure from the physical past, can embracing technological media aide our ability to re-sense the past? Diller + Scofidio (+ Renfro) approach projects with the idea of site attached to geographies and histories, not tabula rasa. Through media installation, Diller + Scofidio (+ Renfro) produces effects that challenge our perception of the everyday by calling to attention the less visible conventions of space. The Blur Building combines a structural frame with a built-in weather media controlling fog output in response to climatic _______________________ 6 Fernando Mårquez Cecilia and Richard C Levene, Herzog & de Meuron, 1981-2000 (Amsterdam: Idea Books, 2000), 365.
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conditions, amplifying otherwise unfelt conditions of site into a sensory experience. Similarly unfelt is the intangible historical element within the everyday. Technological media can make this apparent through recording the decay of buildings, for future users to understand what previously existed. In other cases it may allow us to explore the paranormal, which may serve as a valuable mean of deciphering the past. In each case, technological media may be perhaps the greatest tool in re-sensing the past. In exploring architecture and time, the initial de-evolution of space ultimately yields an enriched evolution in an experiential understanding. A powerful vehicle for the experience of past reduction is embraced, likewise through a particular approach of reuse. Once decay draws to a close, a renewal of space and the exploration of technological implementation can provide formal and experiential references to the past that is no longer apparent. Electing to respect and showcase history, these controlled modes of architectural intervention may create the human experience of past, ultimately speaking towards the relationship between architecture and time.
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7. Herzog & de Meuron, Tate Modern 8. Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Blur
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POSITION: DESIGN SPECULATION
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9. Wall Art Re-Painted Door Help Me I Hate Riverside
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DESIGN SPECULATION In many cases, the true mystery of the world is the invisible. At North Brother Island the invisible is its largely unknown, forgotten past. The island’s history includes the wreck-site of the General Slocum Steamship, as well as having served as a site for facilities that quarantined New York City’s exiled diseased. Presently numerous buildings remain, though these remnants of the past are currently in decay. In analyzing precedents of disused space, it is evident that invigorated space may be constructed in the shadow of death. Moreover space has the ability to speak towards time, conjuring a dialogue with those experiencing it. Through architectural intervention, reusing the buildings of North Brother Island can serve as a network of ‘living museums’ in which their spaces exhibit their spatial histories to create an overall experience of memory and past. In the past, the island’s buildings quarantined diseased populations of typhoid, smallpox, tuberculosis, leprosy, scarlet fever, diphtheria, venereal diseases, mental illness, and drug addiction. These buildings facilitated the attempted treatment, confinement, and eventual deaths of many that were deemed hazardous to return to the city. Though exposure to the elements reduces the buildings and the materials within, this decay of layers serve as a valuable mode in decoding the past. For example, as the Riverside Hospital continues to run its course, the initial outermost wall art by the drug addict disintegrates. The coat of paint which restored the space for displaced military veteran housing enters the foreground. The once pristine layer cracks to unearthing the written messages of the helplessly quarantined. Walls collapse, exposing the structure that was
built on the foundations of optimistic intentions, which sadly resulted in a forgotten history of tragic occupation. This decay creates a reversed visual experience of the island’s historical progression over time for visitors. Without decay, this range of historical occupational experiences could not be decoded. With the reduction of the island’s buildings comes the experiential revelation of its past. While reduction produces a key visual experience within the island’s living museums, it simultaneously destroys them. Already unfit for human occupation, embracing decay further compromises realistic reuse. Rather than sentimentally restoring elements, intervention through particular material applications can accommodate proper reuse, and eventual renewal. Applying neutral materiality such as glass upon the building openings and structural bracing solely where necessary, intervention limits disrupting the experience that makes the spaces important. Prolonging the length of decay, visitors over an extended period of time will be able to experience North Brother Island’s revelation of past firsthand as the buildings place in time is slowed, instead of frozen. Eventually the living museums will fully decompose leaving behind the assemblage of materials that allowed for reuse, yielding full renewal. Replacing the visual experience of decay, relics from the General Slocum shipwreck and original building inhabitants are exhibited as the living museum continues to display the past. As the reduction, reuse, and renewal of North Brother Island’s buildings signal the departure from the physical past, the living museums shift to contemporary methods to
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POSITION: DESIGN SPECULATION
re-sense the invisible. During phases of decay, technological media records the phases of material decomposition. Monitors in renewed museum spaces replay the recorded devolution of materials for future visitors to re-read and identify the past of the space they inhabit. Beyond the bounds of the buildings, the paranormal presence of the deceased can offer a dialogue of the past throughout the landscape. Situated at the Eastern dock where the General Slocum wrecked, the dispersal of infrared cameras, electronic voice phenomenon detectors, electromagnetic field meters, digital thermometers, and trigger relics to evoke the reaction of spirits shaping a memorial ‘technoscape’. Outside the living museums, visitors can decipher the island’s past from the deceased firsthand. Within the buildings audio, photo, and video footage is edited to play the most salient of intelligent paranormal recordings. A dramatic entrance for visitors to North Brother Island, the technoscape bridges the gap between the living museums and the city which had long neglected its historical unrest, as a means of re-sensing its past. While New York City has disregarded the historical significance of North Brother Island upon its designation as a protected nesting area, reclamation for human occupation is the opportunity for architectural intervention to resolve unsettled history through the island’s relation to time. Over time the deaths of the buildings is highlighted, serving as a valuable visual experience of past. With their inevitable demise, destruction breeds the creation of permanent spaces which exhibit and engage the past in innovative ways. At New Brother Island, the interactive experience of past pays tribute to the deceased. Through the continuous dialogue between visitor and past, the island creates an exploration of the everapparent relationship between architecture and time.
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10. Ghost Adventures, Electronic Voice Phenomenon 11. Gantry Crane, Dock 12. Exam Table, Morgue Auditorium, Service Building Cell, Riverside Hospital
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ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 3
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PROPOSAL RE-SENSE (v.) to be or become conscious of again INVESTIGATION (n.) the action of investigating someone or something; formal or systematic examination
ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 4
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PROPOSAL: SITE
ANALYTICAL MAPPING
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Situated in New York City’s East River, North Brother Island is remembered by few for two significant historical tragedies. In 1904 the PS General Slocum, a steamship chartered by a New York City church group primarily consisting of mostly women and children voyaged to Long Island for a picnic. Tragically the ship caught fire in the East River inducing panic and abandonment of the ship, and about 1,100 passengers drowned or burned to death. The bodies as well as the ship washed ashore on North Brother Island eastern edge, where the captain optimistically had hoped they would safely dock and evacuate the ship.
were held against their will for what was often a life imprisonment in substandard living conditions.
The second tragedy of North Brother Island was inherent and continuous in its operation as the Riverside Hospital. Opening in 1885, the Island became the home of New York City’s exiled ill. Quarantining diseased populations of typhoid, smallpox, tuberculosis, leprosy, scarlet fever, diphtheria, venereal disease, mental illness, and drug addiction; these buildings facilitated the attempted treatment of many that were deemed hazardous to return to the city. Sadly, thousands
Presently North Brother Island has been reoccupied, though not by man. A variety of birds have claimed the island as a nesting colony, one which the city of New York has protected from the public. In recent years however, the birds have migrated to neighboring South Brother Island, opening the possibility of reclamation for a meaningful human occupation, one which may provide resolution for the thousands of forgotten dead through the architecture’s relation to time.
In 1945, use of the buildings shifted to accommodating WWII military veterans during the post-war housing shortage in the very same spaces that housed New York City’s diseased. In 1952, the final function of the buildings shifted to treat drug offenders through confinement and withdrawal. In 1963, North Brother Island was abandoned for the final time due to corruption and patient recidivism, drawing a close to an eighty-year history of unwilling captivity and death.
13. Aerial, North Brother Island
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SITE: NORTH BROTHER ISLAND Based throughout North Brother Island, the project seeks to engage existing conditions of site as the means of exploring architecture’s relation to time. Throughout the island, conditions such as the remaining buildings, artifacts and interior surfaces provides context for activity which the architecture supports.
PROPOSAL: SITE
Shown in the ‘Analytical Mapping’, buildings such as the Riverside Hospital contain surfaces which are directly identifiable with prior inhabitation. For instance within the Riverside Hospital, decay has provided glimpses into these moments throughout time. First, the outermost wall art of the drug offender disintegrates. The coat of paint which restored the space for military veteran housing enters the foreground. The once pristine layer cracks, unearthing the written messages of the helplessly quarantined. This anticipatory decay creates a reversed visual experience of the island’s historical progression over time. Shown in the mapping there are ‘Residual Inhabitants’ throughout the island that visitors may target to extricate communication in specific locations. For instance the point of death, such as the site of the shipwreck is a place of investigation for Policeman #3125, who drowned after rescuing 10 passengers of the PS General Slocum. In other cases the spirits have migrated, gravitating towards places of emotional attachment. The mothers of the PS General Slocum may have migrated from the site of the shipwreck, gravitating towards the Church due to their faith. The children of the PS General Slocum may have migrated to the Service Building, which became a school for the children quarantined on the island. ‘Typhoid Mary’ Mallon may have migrated to familiar places such as the Morgue where she worked, or the Cottage where she had lived. The traceability of the spirits throughout the island provides the visitor of where they may be wise to investigate.
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In addition to a familiarity of place the spirit’s attachment to island artifacts serves as a valuable catalyst for paranormal encounter. Seen in the ‘Trigger Object Catalog’ and in most instances the artifact remains in its original location. For instance the Riverside Hospital beds of the quarantined remains, as does the backboard of the Service Building’s gymnasium. In other cases it is appropriate to introduce replicas of objects that once existed. A weathered basketball placed within the gymnasium can supplement the existing backboard, and introducing a picnic at the site of the crash can evoke activity along the wreck site. These ‘Trigger Objects’ of site may be engaged in conjunction with investigative equipment to encounter the residual inhabitants of the island.
Artifact Catalog
SITE: TUBERCULOSIS PAVILION Though much of the project will occur throughout the North Brother Island, the primary focus is the Tuberculosis Pavilion. Constructed in 1941, the Tuberculosis Pavilion succeeds all other structures on North Brother Island by over 40 years. Designed to accommodate a greater operation of quarantine, it never served its intended purpose. In its 22-year period of operation, the Tuberculosis Pavilion housed WWII veterans during the post-war housing shortages and in 1952 served as the dormitories for drug offenders. A four-story building at 208,000 Square Feet, the Pavilion contains roughly 160 cells, each approximately 240 Square Feet. 40 cells per floor are lined alongside double-loaded corridors. At the center and ends of the corridors are dayrooms, which accommodated group rest spaces. The Northern portion of the building contains egress and bathrooms. Presently, the Tuberculosis Pavilion is the sole building in sound physical and structural standing. Unlike the facilities that predate it, the walls of the Tuberculosis Pavilion have not seen the suffering nor has it bared the deaths that occurred on the island for nearly a century. The building furthest removed from the tragic history of North Brother Island; there is no discernible emotional attachment for spirits to revisit the building, eliminating its use as an investigative site. This historical autonomy from the island in addition to its structural adequacy for reuse makes the Tuberculosis Pavilion an appropriate site for the island’s collective experiences of past as the Future Repository of Past.
14 14. Southern Facade, Tuberculosis Pavilion
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PROPOSAL: THEORY TO PROJECT LINK / DESIGN METHODOLOGIES
THEORY TO PROJECT LINK The project predicates itself on the idea that architecture is capable of establishing a dialogue with the past, that it may reveal the invisible. Unfortunately this dialogue has not been adequately explored, specifically to re-sense neglected histories of tragedy in critically damaged settings, such as that of North Brother Island. Rather than producing a place of conventional display, perhaps an architectural experience may activate the past from the source itself. Throughout this process, there may be ways in which tangible features and intangible presences simultaneously provide the means for a reinventive experience of past. The tangible features within historically damaged settings are often found throughout the site. Remnants of prior inhabitants exist through the physical traces left upon the surfaces of buildings throughout their use. Through the process of reductive decay, surfaces are shed to bring those indicative of prior occupation into the foreground providing a revelation of past. The question that remains is the length of the process, as realistically it will take hundreds of years for substantial decay by way of the natural mode of weathering.
The intangible presences within these settings are the residual spirits of those who have passed. In tragic sites of involuntary quarantine and disaster, the individual is merely a number. Their deaths bear no significance to the managing entity of the site, leaving a sense of unrest for the dead. Utilizing paranormal investigative devices, one may extricate intelligent communication with the dead to decipher the past. Equally as vital as the devices, remaining island artifacts and other replicas to be introduced trigger a response or presence, based on the spirit’s emotional attachment to the item. The question that remains is how to produce an architecture for this mobile experience. Transcending the conventions of the exploration of architecture’s relation to time, the project seeks not to preserve the physical past, as buildings are destroyed and artifacts are freely engaged. Instead the aim is to preserve the experience of re-sensing the past. As the observative experience of buildings and the paranormal extrication is finite, the renewal of a disused structure within the damaged setting may allow for the collection of the experiences of past.
Artifact Catalog
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DESIGN METHODOLOGIES Moving forward, aspects which drive design development have been touched upon but require further attention. As the design goals are to create an architecture that facilitates the exploration of tangible features and intangible presences for a reinventive experience of past, the process begins with the understanding of decay and the deceased. Understanding the reality of decay, the two issues presented are the time and uncertainty of the natural process. This is problematic considering the project has clear goals of a foreseeable decay and a significant erasure of several layers. Exploring a method of accelerating the process of decay may address these two issues. Devices may operate simulate the natural patterns of weather in terms of moisture and temperature. The implications of these invasive installations must be considered. As important it is for the parasites to scan and decay, they must also inform the paranormal investigation that occurs within the same space. For the paranormal investigation of site, it is important to analyze the historical background of the individuals of the past to inform this investigative activity in the present. Mapping where the individual died, where they once inhabited, or to which artifacts they may be inclined to migrate to allow for an anticipatory circulation of the visitor. Creating speculative scenarios of
paranormal encounter, this also guides the design of display within the cells of the ‘Future Repository of Past’, particularly how to present a recording and its trigger artifact. Seeking to ultimately draw spirits from the eventual ruins of buildings to the Tuberculosis Pavilion as a final resting place, the cells of encounters must convey a scene in which they may identify with. Rather than replicating horrific scenes of the past, spaces of neutrality explore the soothing and inviting capacities of materials and lighting conditions. The focus of these two aspects informs the design development of the site within four areas: landscape, TB Pavilion, TB Cell, and Parasite. While various mediums will be utilized, there are particular modes of production that will highlight the essential qualities of each area of the project. Site Plan will structure the experience throughout the island, while exterior perspectives convey experiences of arrival, park-space, and circulation. Organizational axonometric and plan drawings will define the sequence of perception within the TB Pavilion. The research and modeling of materials and effects will shape the atmosphere of the TB Cell, which will ultimately be communicated through interior perspectives. Lastly, the large to full-scale modeling of the Parasite will explore its spatial implications for the site and investigator. In these modes of working,the relationships between these four areas of design shall inform one another.
Residual Inhabitants
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PROGRAM ACCESS(DOCK) The ‘Future Repository of Past’ operates a ferry from New York City to provide access to North Brother Island, arriving at the island’s original point of entry. Under recommendation of the pilot of the ferry and the suggestive clearing of the landscape, users are immediately directed towards the Tuberculosis Pavilion. [Area: N/A]
EDUCATION (TB PAVILION) Within the Tuberculosis Pavilion visitors attend informational sessions prior to exploring North Brother Island. Historical experts educate the visitors of the tragedies that have occurred throughout the history of the island, where prior inhabitants of the island may reside, and which artifacts exist throughout the site. This information is vital for those who seek to investigate North Brother Island. [Area: 800 SF]
PROPOSAL: PARAMETERS [PROGRAM]
INVESTIGATIVE TRAINING (TB PAVILION) After attending informational sessions of the island, visitors may receive investigative training from Paranormal Experts. The experts train visitors in the use of equipment, sharing their personal experiences of spiritual extrication. These proven methods influence how visitors approach their investigation of site. [Area: 800 SF]
PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION (LANDSCAPE/BUILDINGS) Using investigative equipment, visitors explore North Brother Island’s landscape and existing buildings with the aim of evoking the island’s residual inhabitants. Investigations may yield recordings of visual apparitions, electromagnetic anomalies, temperature readings, and intelligent audible responses. [Area: N/A (Mobile)]
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STORAGE (TB PAVILION) When not in use, investigative equipment is stored within the Tuberculosis Pavilion. Replicas of island artifacts are also kept within for the replacement of trigger objects in the event of their misplacement or theft. [Area: 1,000 SF]
OBSERVATION OF DECAY (BUILDINGS) Within North Brother Island’s buildings, the decay of surfaces provide viewers the observative experience of prior occupation as underlying layers enter the foreground. A continuous process, devices scan and document the surfaces throughout their phases of decay. Monitors simultaneously display the animations of stills in iteration allowing the viewer to observe the layers that have been erased over time. This informs the user of the prior inhabitants of the particular building, and which of those residual inhabitants are most appropriate to extricate. [Area: N/A (Specific to moment)]
DISPLAY OF PAST (TB PAVILION) Renewed as the ‘Future Repository of Past’, the Tuberculosis Pavilion collects the experiences of the visitors in their explorations of deciphering past. Anticipating the collapse of the existing buildings, the ‘Future Repository of Past’ gradually displays the animations of decay, recordings of paranormal encounters, and the artifacts used in the specific encounters. [Area: 240 SF per Cell (Approximately 160 Cells)]
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USERS VISITORS - GENERAL PUBLIC While it is difficult to predict the visitors of North Brother Island, all are invited. The general public of New York City is desired to visit the ‘Future Repository of Past’, as the intention of the repository is to inform the public of the neglected past.
VISITORS - PARANORMAL ENTHUSIASTS To conduct a paranormal investigation, the common paranormal enthusiast constantly puts themselves in dangerous circumstances with the law and their safety. North Brother Island encourages this group of visitors for their energetic embrace of this central program of the island. Under the tutelage of paranormal experts, the enthusiasts are well equipped to engage the spirits of the dead, contributing to the collection of paranormal encounters within the repository.
PROPOSAL: PARAMETERS [USERS]
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VISITORS - DELINQUENTS Since North Brother Island’s abandonment in 1963, adventurous individuals have illegally trespassed on the island fascinated by the cryptic nature of the island. Unaware of its history, visitors have disrespected the didactic experience through their interpretation of the solemnity of past.
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HISTORICAL EXPERTS Historical experts within the ‘Future Repository of Past’ educate visitors of North Brother Island’s tragic history, residual inhabitants, existing buildings, and island artifacts. This informs the visitors of who they may target during their investigation, where they may reside, and to which island artifacts the spirits bear an emotional attachment. Descendants of those who have inhabited or died on the island are desired to assist the educational aspect of the ‘Future Repository of Past’ as they may have personal stories or artifacts to contribute to the repository. 16
PARANORMAL EXPERTS Paranormal experts within the ‘Future Repository of Past’ train visitors on how to operate investigative equipment for the investigation of North Brother Island. These experts share their personal encounters, providing visitors with their particular approaches in effectively extricating the deceased. Experts may accompany visitors during their exploration and investigation. 17
STAFF The staff of the ‘Future Repository of Past’ oversees the operation of the ferry, investigative equipment, installations of decay, and exhibition spaces within the repository. The staff manages the process of relocating the artifacts and monitors as the existing buildings collapse, staging the ‘Exhibitions of the Re-Sensed Past’.
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TERMS OF CRITICISM ToC1: How can the process of decay reveal the experience of the past?
ToC2: Disruptive intervention and sentimental restoration are methods to avoid. Are there other means of highlighting history?
PROPOSAL: TERMS OF CRITICISM / METHODS OF INQUIRY
ToC3: Realistically it may take over 50 years to naturally achieve substantial decay. Can the process be accelerated?
ToC4: Is there a specific program which can express the specific historical qualities that have long existed in a building?
ToC5: Can technological media aide our ability to re-read and re-sense the past?
ToC6: How can North Brother Island attract the general public who may not be interested in its history or paranormal investigation?
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METHODS OF INQUIRY + MoI1: Examining how current layers are shed to bring those of old into the foreground can produce a natural contrast of materials to visually express past occupation.
+ MoI2: Intervention is valid though certain material applications with a performance of neutrality, not disturbing the degradation of the building in time. Which materials can be used in these situations will be explored.
+MoI3: Neutral enclosure can prolong decay, as well as create a controlled environment for manipulate the process of decay. A system can then mimic weather conditions to a greater intensity to bring the observative experience to the immediate future.
+ MoI4: Museums developed within pre-existing buildings create powerful spaces which can highlight the physical past. Unfortunately these types do not always relate their exhibits to their spatial histories. Examining the museum types that do celebrate their past in exhibitions can influence the approach in expressing a specific building’s historical qualities.
+ MoI5a: During phases of decay technological media can record the phases of material decomposition. Monitors can display the de-evolution of materials for future inhabitants to re-read the past in respect to what exists in the present. + MoI5b: The engaging of paranormal presences can allow one to re-sense the past. Certain devices gauge the presence of spirits, capture visual anomalies, and serve as the medium for spirits to produce audible reactions. Exploring how these devices work in greater detail can determine how they can create experiential space.
+ MoI6: In program’s relation to the site, the southern portion of the island is of minimal involvement. Perhaps this portion of the site can be restored into park space for recreation with an oriented view of the city Skyline.
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DESIGN SPECULATION In many cases, the true mystery of the world is the invisible. At North Brother Island the invisible is the neglected and forgotten past. Throughout the island, the paranormal investigation and observation of decay activate the past from the source itself, operating as reinventive means of revealing the past. A mobile set of explorations that engage the tangible conditions and intangible presences of site, two elements of architectural intervention look to support these activities as well as collect the future memory of past.
PROPOSAL: DESIGN SPECULATION
In analyzing the decay of surface throughout North Brother Island, the Riverside Hospital provides a study of material reduction as the means of revealing history. Collaging four surfaces that are unique to four instances of inhabitation, a sequential layering of their true occurrence simulates the condition of surface that exists within the building. The message of ‘I hate Riverside’ lies beneath the desperation of ‘Help me I’m being held here against my will’, which lies beneath the chipping layer of paint that restored the Hospital as a dwelling for the WWII veterans, all of which lies beneath the outermost layer of the drug offenders painting. Similar to Robert Rauschenberg’s Erased de Kooning, the series of simulated decay shows the benefit of material erasure as an additive subtraction that provides glimpses into whom and what once was. Understanding the reality that it will take centuries for this process to occur, perhaps there is a method of accelerating decay. Sverre Fehn’s Hedmark Museum attaches glass panels in the moments of decay throughout the facades, leaving the historical character of the building undisturbed.
Parasitic Choreography Erased Riverside Hospital
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It creates a controlled environment, protecting the interior from the elements. Sealing buildings such as the Riverside Hospital in the mode of Fehn creates a controlled environment, not to protect the building but to destroy it. Implementing two parasitic installations within these spaces, one visually preserves while the other destroys. Akin to Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Para-Site which scans human voyeurism, Parasite A of the Riverside Hospital scans the regression of space and displays the regression of space on an iterative loop. Parasite B follows the path of Parasite A, decaying layers to reveal those underneath. Visitors are then able to observe the surfaces of those such as ‘Erased Riverside Hospital’ in relation to prior states as a holistic understanding of prior experience and inhabitation. Though seemingly disparate elements, the paranormal investigation of site is aided by the visual scans provided
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by the parasite. As the Parasite reveals surfaces, they present the investigator with a suggestion of who they may attempt to extricate. For instance if the early message of ‘Help me I’m being held here against my will’ appears in the foreground, perhaps it is best to evoke spirits of the diseased quarantined, rather than the drug offender. A reemergence of a specific set of surfaces alters the physical setting, which may better draw that specific group of inhabitant through a sense of familiarity. To preserve these experiences of past, the renewal of the Tuberculosis Pavilion as ‘Future Repository of Past’ serves as the collective place to display the recordings of the tangible and intangible. Accommodating approximately 160 instances of encounter, the cells within the Tuberculosis Pavilion isolate each experience that involves the re-sensing of past. At the base of the building, program facilitates the intelligent
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19. Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning 20. Sverre Fehn, Hedmark Museum 21. Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Para-Site
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investigation of site. From the second to fourth levels, the display cells may be organized into different sequences. They may be sorted by the location of encounter, the type of recording, or perhaps the chronology of the encounter.
PROPOSAL: DESIGN SPECULATION
The image of the cell explores the transformation of the Tuberculosis Pavilion materially and experientially. Much like the Chalice of Abbot Suger, artifact and experience are dignified, given expressive power in a context of neutrality. Within the refurbished cells, space is defined similar to Pablo Valbuena’s Extension Series light constructs define perceived space within the pre-existing; communicating the place the artifact and recording were native to. For instance we have a visitor inhabiting the virtual construct of a Riverside Hospital room, engaging the original bed while listening to an audio recording of a deceased patient. Inhabiting the cell, the visitor engages a formal representation of the decoded past. A second function of the Tuberculosis Pavilion is to invite
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22. Chalice of Abbot Suger of Saint Denis 23. Pablo Valbuena, Extension Series
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the spirits once all other buildings collapse. The emotive artifacts, familiarity through the virtual space and the ambience of material and lighting provides the spirits with a cathartic resting place, recognizable, but free of horror through a serene interpretation of the original space. Challenging the conventions of space to explore architecture’s relation to time, the project must to continue to execute the theoretical position that makes this an architectural thesis in that the dialogue with time is not the physical past, but rather the experiencing of past. Through the overt destruction of the built form and use of significant artifacts, additive subtraction in coalescence with other investigative methods of site produces a greater understanding of North Brother Island’s historical background, as well as the relationship between architecture and time.
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Riverside Hospital Cell
TB Pavilion Cell
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ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 5
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DESIGN RENEW (v.) to begin again DISPLAY (v.) Make a prominent exhibition of something in a place where it can be easily seen.
ERASED RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL: STILL 6
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DESIGN: INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION This thesis predicates itself on the idea that architecture speaks with the past, that it may reveal the invisible. An inquiry into architecture’s capacity to communicate time, the project is inspired by sites of neglected historical tragedies, specifically North Brother Island. Analyzing North Brother Island, there is a strong sense of stratified historical and physical contexts that have developed over time. Putting myself in a homodiegetic position, I feel that as a victim of North Brother Island, I would wish for the public to preserve the memories and experiences of my past, but by no means - the physical site that housed my horrors, as they are not precious spaces, nor do they deserve to be dignified. Exploring how the layers of historical and physical context may provide us with the vehicle of discovering the past, the project overtly engages the physical environment, imploring and overlapping various forensic methods.
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DESIGN: SITE
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DESIGN: EXTERIOR PARASITE
EXTERIOR PARASITE Interpreting North Brother Island’s physical context as layered, engaging the landscape through excavation dissects the grounds of the site through an extensive process of abrasion. Artificially intelligent devices get beneath the layers of earth and vegetation to discover elements of North Brother Island’s past through the retrieval of artifacts. The tracks for these ‘Exterior Parasites’ are spaced based upon the educated assumption that objects are found in closer proximity to buildings rather than throughout the open landscape. Thus the tracks which support the Exterior Parasites are in greater density adjacent to remaining buildings and require a greater depth of excavation along these moments. As the Exterior Parasites recover artifacts, the origin of the object corresponds with its depth, as the oldest of artifacts lie within the greater of depths. Upon the perceived discovery of an artifact, the Exterior Parasite navigates the network of tracks towards the ‘Future Repository of Past’ for sorting and display. The inherent subtraction of soil as a spatial condition and material supports various processes vital in North Brother Island’s cathartic transitions over the foreseeable century into the future.
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DESIGN: INTERIOR PARASITE
INTERIOR PARASITE Within the remaining buildings, surfaces are also stratified. For instance the original Riverside Hospital of North Brother Island bears various material layers indicative of prior inhabitation. From the desperate messages of the quarantined (reading ‘Help me I am being held here against my will’, ‘I hate Riverside’, and most intensely ‘Riverside is bullshit’), to the painted layer which restored the quarantine cells for WWII veteran housing, to the outermost wall art by drug addicts during withdrawal, the active erasure of decay that undresses these buildings is very much a visual reversal of history. To support these processes in uncovering the past, ‘Interior Parasites’ accelerate the decay of the surfaces through mimicking natural weather implications such as saturation and introducing manual processes of perforation and abrasion. Throughout the process the Interior Parasites scan the surfaces to document and preserve these glimpses of the past. Within the buildings of decay, a structural frame is implemented to preserve a safe experience of exploration and provide the track of navigation for the Interior Parasites. While North Brother Island operates as a park and semiexplorative landscape during the day, the display feature of the Interior Parasites factors into the nighttime program of paranormal investigation (ghost-hunting) of the spiritual resonance of North Brother Island. This visual re-display of past occurs while the Interior Parasites are dormant in their re-charging/re-hydrating stations, serving as the investigator’s basis for inquiry and dialogue, as these messages inform who may have once inhabited the building and whom exactly they may seek to extricate.
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DESIGN: DAILY PROGRAMMATIC CYCLE
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DESIGN: ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
Within the buildings, the process of decay is taken a step further as a mode of paying respect to the victims of North Brother Island. Once decay completes, the Exterior Parasites invade the buildings, deconstruct the remaining physical form and bury the deconstruction waste deep within the inherent excavation trenches, putting the horrific past to rest literally and figuratively to rectify the tragedies of past. Above this burial of North Brother Island’s physical past, comes the re-planting of the site. Trees are organized in rows, paralleling gravestones to memorialize the past, while supporting future ecological development
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SECTIONAL SERIES 1
Giving way to the bird repopulation, an influx of new avian life seeks to soar above the core-zone of excavation, decay, and burial. As the sea-level rises, North Brother Island’s trenches utilize this otherwise concern as a site feature which introduces an essential aquatic element to support the bird habitat. The Interior Parasites transition from scanning the buildings to monitoring the landscape and its revitalization. Through these cathartic transitions the landscape morphs into a restored ecological setting that has risen from a foundation of death.
SECTIONAL SERIES 2
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DESIGN: ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 44
2013A [EXCAVATION]
2023C [RETRIEVAL]
2013B [IP STRUCTURAL FRAME]
2033A [EXCAVATION]
2013C [DISPLAY]
2033B [DECAY/SCANNING]
2023A [EXCAVATION]
2033C [MOUNDING]
2023B [MOUNDING]
2043A [DECONSTRUCTION]
2043B [RE-PLANTING]
2063B [BURIAL]
2043C [IP PROJECTION]
2063C [BIRD MONITORING]
2053A [DE-MOUNDING]
2113A [BIRD MONITORING]
2053B [BURIAL]
2113B [ELEVATED PATHS]
2063A [DE-MOUNDING]
2113C [AQUATIC HABITAT]
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DESIGN: ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
EXCAVATION
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EXCAVATION [2013]
RE-PLANTING [2043]
EXCAVATION [2023]
RE-PLANTING [2053]
EXCAVATION [2033]
RE-PLANTING [2063]
RE-PLANTING
IP RELOCATION
MOUNDING [2013]
DECAY/SCANNING [2013-2033]
MOUNDING [2023]
PROJECTION [2023-2113]
MOUNDING [2033]
BIRD-MONITORING [2053-2113]
BIRD-MONITORING
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DESIGN: ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
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DESIGN: FUTURE REPOSITORY OF PAST
PARASITIC LANDSCAPE, PROJECTIVE SKIN SYSTEM
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FUTURE REPOSITORY OF PAST As buildings are buried over time and the landscape is tactfully re-claimed by nature and birds, the human experience is not lost. The constant within North Brother Island’s perpetual changes, the TB Pavilion provides a place for the collection and display of experiences past and present. Constructed 60 years after the island’s other facilities, the TB Pavilion has not hosted the tragedies of disease and death. In fair condition, the TB Pavilion becomes the ‘Future Repository of Past’. At the base of the Pavilion, there is the sorting of artifacts (from excavation), tree depository (prior to re-planting), bird-monitoring center (after re-planting), and the continuous retrofitting and maintenance of the parasites.
CIRCULATION
Organized as a double loaded corridor, the 2nd/3rd Floor cells of the Pavilion serve as the means of displaying the past in sequence. As the other buildings collapse, Interior Parasites are relocated to the Pavilion and are retrofitted to become projectors as a skin-system on the South façade, projecting the scans of decay inward to the Southern Cells for a chronologically-organized observation of the physical past, circulating towards the uppermost level. Across the hall, the northern cells display artifacts. The pedestal for the artifact is the displaced exterior parasites, which bears a visual relationship with the artifact as the parasite endures a particular intensity of weathering/rust/wear to reach specific depths to recover the item. Thus its age in terms of condition is in correlation and is reflective of the age of the artifact, which in upward circulation is organized by depth of discovery going from shallow to deep. The display is further accentuated as light filters from beneath the shafts through which the parasites are raised, and through the window behind the parasite.
ELONGATED CELLS
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DESIGN: FUTURE REPOSITORY OF PAST
As decay projection, uplighting, and small windows are the sole sources of light, the circulation upward through the building is increasingly dim, paralleling the Parasite’s journey deep within the ground. On the 4th floor, darkness overtakes the space as a paranormal training center, where visitors are familiarized with the technologies and methods of ghosthunting. As time progresses and spirits are displaced from the buried buildings, this top level seeks to accommodate the spirits as a final, peaceful resting place. Similar to human circulation, perhaps the spirits of past journey through the building, identifying with the projections and artifacts to which they may bear an emotional attachment. This gradually shifts the paranormal training center to a paranormal hotspot for respectful interaction. A condensed atmosphere of audible interchange between visitors and spirits, sounds are directed downward through the parasite shafts through a ventilation system composed of the displaced material of the Interior Parasite’s recharging stations. Cold air carries sounds downward, and angled planes direct acoustics. It makes for a multi-sensory experience on the middle floors as you engage the visual projections, tactile artifacts, and audible dialogue which may involve the spirits who may have left the personal traces within the decay, or to whom the artifact may have belonged to.
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DESIGN: FUTURE REPOSITORY OF PAST DECAY PROJECTION
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ARTIFACT DISPLAY
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DESIGN: EPILOGUE
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24. Peter Zumthor, Kolumba
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EPILOGUE In many ways, there could not have been a more appropriate challenge than this particular thesis to conclude my studies. An architecture of various scales, a narrative of immense weight, and a site of extreme contextual aspects, developing ‘Future Days of Past’ has presented many of the design challenges which have long interested and eluded me. While I leave Temple University proud of my execution within the thesis, there is a sense of enthusiasm and cognizance of the untapped potential which the project has yet to explore. Though the initial area of interest, the last and perhaps most undeveloped element of the project is the Tuberculosis Pavilion. The primary node of future North Brother Island, the ‘Future Repository of Past’ is the architectural junction where the large-scale processes of landscape and small-scale operations of Parasite meet. Partially developed through sectional drawing and model, there are conditions beyond the double-loaded corridor that must be addressed. If the building remains true to the narrative and wishes to provide a final resting place for the deceased, these remaining spatial conditions can influence how spirits are drawn towards the upper level of the Pavilion.
Perhaps the deconstruction process of the buried buildings may be controlled and salvaged masonry may be applied within the voids of the Pavilion façade. Just as the Pavilion collects memory through projection and display, it may continue to do so through a familiar material within its renewal. Though the design direction has taken routes which I had not anticipated early in the process, it has created a well-thought base for further development. Interestingly, one constant theme that has remained is that architecture may communicate time in sites of neglected tragic histories through an aggressive, but learnative engagement of its existing context. In certain respects, ‘Future Days of Past’ is evidence that these destructive measures allows architecture to preserve and craft experiences of the past which may remain far into the future.
Transitioning to the greater Tuberculosis Pavilion, detail-oriented issues arise. Atop the Pavilion, the Paranormal Training or Hotspot requires greater detail in how the’ ghost-stations’ support paranormal interaction as it does not solely need to be through dialogue. Though briefly touched upon, re-sheathing the damaged Pavilion is vital for its renewal as the repository. Through attempting the mode of Sverre Fehn, the neutrality of the re-purposed glass from the Parasite re-charging stations seems alien.
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IMAGE REFERENCES 1 “Riverside Hospital”; http://media.wnyc.org/media/photologue/ photos/04_North_Brother_Nurse’s_Quarters.JPG
13 “Aerial, North Brother Island”; maps.google.com
2 “Tuberculosis Pavilion”; http://www.seaofstorms.com/ wordpress/04112011/01.jpg
14 “Southern Facade, Tuberculosis Pavilion”; http://www. bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/bronx/northbrotherisland/ index.htm
3 “Herons, South Brother Island”; http://graphics8.nytimes.com/ images/2007/11/20/nyregion/birds600.jpg 4 “Aerial, New York City”; maps.google.com 5 “New York Public Library Restoration”; http://culture.wnyc.org/ articles/features/2011/feb/02/city-officials-celebrate-restored42nd-street-library-facade/
15 “Visitors - Paranormal Enthusiasts”; http://timenewsfeed.files. wordpress.com/2011/01/ouija-board1. jpg?w=600&h=400&crop=1 16 “Historical Experts”; http://media.wnyc.org/media/photologue/ photos/cache/North-Brother---Sean-in-the-TB-Hospital_BLOG_ storyslide_image.jpg
6 “Sverre Fehn, Hedmark Museum”; http://farm4.static.flickr. com/3182/2987105109_e9427f2f6d.jpg
17 “Paranormal Experts”; http://fc09.deviantart.net/ fs71/f/2011/273/a/0/ghost_adventures_motivational2_by_ kanamerienhartxiii-d4bekhg.jpg
7 “Herzog & de Meuron, Tate Modern”; http://www.critiquethis.us/wpcontent/gallery/1111-lincoln-road-designed-by-herzog-de-meuron/ tate_modern_interior_herzog_de_meuron_1.jpg
18 “Staff”; http://weatherspoon.uncg.edu/images/content/about/ about-staff.jpg
8 “Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Blur”; http://www.strategies-research.ufg. ac.at/english/archive/images/blur_anzugKopie.jpg
19 “Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning”; http://2.bp.blogspot. com/_mfMRTBDpgkM/TUwabm15M9I/AAAAAAAAQj0/ bzXypa3dlNg/s1600/web-rausch.jpg
9 “Wall Art, Re-Painted Door, Help Me, I Hate Riverside”; http:// kingstonlounge.blogspot.com/2011/01/north-brother-island-r riverside-hospital.html
20 “Sverre Fehn, Hedmark Museum”; http://4.bp.blogspot. com/_7RaGJ_y6cjI/S_Wz4Mo48xI/AAAAAAAAAdg/n_3KvcSFzf4/ s1600/IMG_Fjeld_Fehn_Hamar.jpg
10 “Ghost Adventures, Electronic Voice Phenomenon”; http:// ghosttvblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/GhostAdventures-Pennhurst-evp-help-me.JPG
21 “Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Para-Site”; http://fluxwurx.com/jstudio/ wp-content/uploads/2011/01/4.jpeg
11 “Gantry Crane, Dock”; http://travelstalker.files.wordpress. com/2011/12/north-brother-island-e28093-abandoned-factoryjag9889.jpg 12 “Exam Table, Auditorium, Cell”; http://kingstonlounge.blogspot. com/2011/01/north-brother-island-riverside-hospital.html
22 “Chalice of Abbot Suger of Saint Denis”; http://www. medievalarchives.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/chalice.jpg 23 “Pablo Valbuena, Extension Series”; http://cup2013.wordpress. com/tag/ghost-architecture/ 24 “Peter Zumthor, Kolumba”; http://www.flickr.com/photos/dissection/
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Crane, John Kenny. The Secrets of North Brother Island. USA: Xlibris Corporation, 2010. Fjeld, Per Olaf. Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts. New York: The Montacelli Press, 2009. Friedman, Mildred. Carlo Scarpa: Intervening with History. New York: The Montacelli Press, 1999. Incerti, Guido. Diller + Scofidio (+ Renfro): the Ciliary Function. New York: Skira, 2007. Mรกrquez Cecilia, Fernando, and Levene, Richard C. Herzog & de Meuron, 1981-2000. Amsterdam: Idea Books, 2000. Schultz, Anne-Catrin. Carlo Scarpa Layers. London: Edition Axel Menges, 2007. Yu, E ando. Kenchiku to toshi: Architecture and urbanism : A + U. Tokyo: Kabushiki Kaisha E ando Yu, 1997.
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