Monday, 1/28

Back to blogging!

Case Studies:
Storm King
Dia:Beacon
Grounds for Sculpture, etc

Storm King and GFS seems to be pretty much the same thing, but SK is about 500 acres, so it's over 2 x the scale I am attempting.

Details:
500 acres of post-war sculpture in NY
Opened in 1960
Directly responsive to natural landscape (just like GFS)
'Creative Farming' - reintroduction of natural long grasses into the previously farm-exhausted fields
Permanent collection
Works on loan
Special exhibits and events
Serves as public gathering space for special events and public awarness, etc.

Dia:Beacon:
Historic preservation of Nabisco factory in NY
300,000sqft of interior space (roughly the size of one of the structures in the Reading Yard)
Permanent collection/works on loan/special events
No surrounding landscapes, all interior works


Neither SK, DB or GFS provide workshop and creation / studio space for artists and communities, they all are variations of gallery spaces and collections of sculptures. DB has no relation to landscape and is very small in comparison to SK, GFS and the Reading Yard, yet it will still provide valuable insight into preservation and interior gallery space, etc.

Scale:
Questions have been raised numerous times about the size and scope of work I am planning to achieve in this project. I still am not completely sure how large this project will become, which is a concern due to the short amount of time we have to do actual work. The 'master plan' (if you will) includes the reuse of each of the structures on the site (appx 640,000 sqft) somewhere down the road. I would like to focus on one building for final jury and discussions in the latter part of the semester. I think the large shop on the west end of the yard would be my choice for this, since it provides the most interior space of all of the structures still standing.

This weekend I am developing diagrams (hopefully a few) for the layout and organization of the sculptural grounds and areas throughout the site. This will provide a clear explanation of a system to be applied to act as a catalyst for the site and its eventual complete redevelopment. As for a site model, this will most likely entail an overall site model (even if it means 1:100 scale, which will build faster and maybe help for viewing organization, despite yielding little detail) Focusing on a single building will allow for a larger scale model of that to be constructed... If its design becomes a system that may be applied to each building on the site through variations, then drawings (elevations, sections, perspectives, etc) can be done for their conveyance. As for now, I think the diagrams have helped the most and will continue to do so throughout the design process.

Getting an organization scheme hammered out within the next week or so is the first step, which will help lead into the design of the buildings, etc. (So that's for starters I guess).
The entire site is not manageable, obviously, so I will not be able to design/develop the whole site this semester, but will instead develop a method for redevelopment (as if I haven't said that already).

Links to the community can be achieved in several ways. First are the obvious; the community will have this as a grounds for expression of their artistic talents and abilities, etc, as well as a public events grounds. The removal of physical barriers (fences, walls, invasive vegetation, etc.) will provide views into the site from the surrounding city/hills on the east and west. Other methods for involvement of and linkage to the community are the further redevelopment of the site, (i.e. shops, retail, restaurant space, etc.) that may spring up with the coming of this project. Linkages are made in the owning, operating, maintaining, developing and coexistence of/with the Reading Yard.

Where will it be in 50+ years? I'll need to sit on that for a while.

As always, more to follow...