Limekiln Latitudes

On place, purpose and pretty things.

Archive for September, 2009

big pipes

September 21, 2009 at 11:56am · Filed under Design/Build, Ear Catching and tagged: , ,

So after three+ years in my apartment, I finally talked to one of the NYC Dept of Environmental Protection construction guys across the street and found out once and for all what they’ve been working on: a 13 ft diameter pipe bringing fresh water (from upstate reservoirs – another discussion altogether) down the west side of Manhattan, connecting presumably to the 13th Street Pumping Station. This block of Gansevoort Street has been under construction since 2004 – apparently the pipe is buried something like 400 feet underground! – and I suppose I finally asked because Mr. DEP and I were literally the only two people out at 8:00am on a Saturday morning. I’d also been noticing the original cobblestones piling up on the sidewalk and wanted to know their destiny – thankfully they’re going to put back as many as they can.

Cobblestones

And now at least I know that all those early morning jack-hammers were in service of a major infrastructural improvement… thirteen feet is huge! Reminds me of this awesome advertisement in Civil Engineering magazine:

Corrugated Steel Pipe Design Manual

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the aurora project

September 17, 2009 at 12:14pm · Filed under Design/Build, Eye Catching and tagged: , , , , , ,

Aurora Invitation

a stunning and thought-provoking project by nataly gattegno and jason kelly johnson opened last night at van alen institute, and will be on view in the gallery through october 16, 2009. nataly and jason are founders of future cities lab, an “interdisciplinary design and research collaborative bridging architecture and landscape urbanism with material sciences, robotics and engineering.”  they were in residence at van alen as new york prize fellows this past summer, and with the help of carrie norman, thomas kelly, and a small army of enthusiastic and crazy smart recent design and media grads, nataly and jason brought not only the aurora project but the entire van alen institute to life. they are fantastic thinkers, makers, and educators, and i highly recommend checking out this exhibition – and their work more broadly – if you’re into craft, technology, phenomenology, cartography, ecology… you name it, they nailed it.

Making Aurora

Glaciarium

the exhibition includes three installations: “aurora” superimposes the ephemeral qualities of the arctic ice field with the dynamic behavior of visitors, translating the shifting dimensions of the ice into an immersive system of flickering auroras and responsive luminescent skins. presented alongside aurora is “terra incognita,” a map room consisting of original drawings, diagrams and other materials that provide a view into how the arctic region has been represented, claimed, and mythologized in the past and present. a smaller interactive instrument, “the glaciarium,” engages visitors’ senses through the sight and sound of a melting ice core.

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nyc landfills

September 11, 2009 at 10:39am · Filed under Design/Build, Eye Catching and tagged: , , , ,

Photo: Uli Seit for The New York Times

Interesting article in this week’s New York Times about how the NYC Dept of Environmental Protection, under John McLaughlin, has handled the rehabilitation of the Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue landfills out in Jamaica Bay. They’ve basically capped and replanted both sites to establish a series of ‘wilderness’ ecosystems reminiscent of those found nearby, like New Jersey’s Pine Barrens and Sandy Hook and Fire Island’s maritime shrub lands.

As a means of creating/restoring a public space this represents a particularly significant contrast to the hyper-designed and supremely hyped park at Fresh Kills, and heck, why not throw the Highline into the mix as well.  I’m less interested in criticizing the high design of the latter examples, and more fascinated by the notion that many people wouldn’t view the work at Pennsylvania Ave and Fountain Ave as “design” at all, when in fact one of the most interesting studios practicing right now was a catalyst for and consultant on the project:  Andropogon Associates, based in Philadelphia, bills itself as “landscape architecture, ecological planning & design.” It’s important to note that they’ve been at it for something like 30 years, and (from where I’m standing) they seem to be one of the most sought after collaborators on the interdisciplinary teams that are being formed more and more for large scale master planning projects, design competitions that focus on sustainability, green urbanism discussions, etc.

And of course I have to say it: classic that the article doesn’t mention that both landfills are part of Gateway National Recreation Area.  The folks at PlaNYC, NYC DEP, and NYS DEC are doing incredible and important work, but I find myself wondering how the National Park Service could become – and be seen as – a strong leader in managing these lands.  Because I can’t help but suspect that the decision to re-establish the sites as more natural, wilderness environments for public exploration – rather than a highly programmed, destination park – had something to do with the NPS mandate.

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city living

September 5, 2009 at 9:37pm · Filed under Eye Catching, Simple Pleasures, Why Not and tagged: , ,

sadly i had to abandon what would have been a fantastic trip to boulder this labor day weekend, so in an effort to make up for the nature i’m missing i spent some time this morning appreciating the little patch of green i’ve cultivated here at home… not such a bad view to wake up to every day:

fire escape garden

i heart my pea plant

right now i’ve got two kinds of basil, flat and curly parsley, mint, a variegated vinca, a bunch of lantana, and a tallgrass out on the fire escape. the windowsill is home to my jade plant, some lemon thyme, two string-of-pearls, chives, and a baby succulent i picked up at the union square farmers market not too long ago.

there’s definitely been an influx of birds and butterflies this summer… could it be the highline?

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