Preface
New York City exists because of its unique access to water. As the Dutch settlers who colonized the city quickly realized, the geography of Long Island protects the island of Manhattan from ocean currents, making the island ideal for docking ocean vessels that connected the rest of the world. Yet its history as a global port is only a small segment of the area’s relationship with the water. Before Western colonization, the Lenape utilized the waters surrounding Manhattan for fishing, travel, and trade. Unlike our culture, in which the way we see New York waterways is governed by laws, money, and politics, the Lenape’s relationship was one of respect and dependence. They did not see land as something to be bought and sold, but something to if taken care of will take care of you. Before the Lenape, the New York harbor is estimated to have formed between 13,300 and 26,000 years ago since last glaciation period. Before occupied by humans, rich flora and fauna flourished throughout the Hudson River and New York Harbor. Imagine a rich ecosystem in which a hungry sailor could hop in the river, grab a fresh oyster off the riverbed, and enjoy a hearty meal for free. The natural resources abounded by the river as well as its natural port geography made the New York area ripe for human development, which has persisted and exponentially grown since it was first settled.
As humans have populated every corner of the New York Harbor, however, we have become disconnected from the very ecosystem that formulated our existence here. Our sewage gets dumped without treatment into the Hudson River as if it will disappear from our sight. We use plastic bags for thirty minutes that take thousands of years to decompose in the ocean. We dine on fish containing plastic remnants in their stomachs and have no idea where they were fished.
Our trashing of the water around us correlates an emotional detachment to the water as well. We see our water as beautiful but only look at it from behind steel fences. We travel hundreds of miles to swim in other cleaner waters while there is water right here that we neglect to take care of.
Future Current
Future Current confronts this dilemma we have found ourselves in. It strives for a radical reattachment to the water. Personal space is limited but public space is abundant. Every living space has large access to the outdoors, and shelter is only desirable when the weather prevents existing outside. This is based on a theory that if we are connected emotionally to the water by interacting with it at every minute, we will be happier and feel a deeper need to protect it in our daily actions.
This project was made in collaboration with Michael Brittenham and Max H. Stern. The project consists of digital renderings, physical model, and a design methodology. Please contact for full design methodology and bibliography.
