7 Days in NYC: Exploring Contemporary Landscapes
  • Intro
  • Schedule
  • Course Materials
  • Daily Blogs
    • Foreword
    • Day 1
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
    • Day 4
    • Day 5
    • Day 6
    • Day 7
    • Afterword
  • Blogging Tutorial
  • Image sharing
  • Archive
    • 2015 Edition
    • Foreword
    • Day 1
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
    • Day 4
    • Day 5
    • Day 6
    • Day 7
    • Afterword
    • 2014 Edition
    • Foreword
    • Day 1
    • Day 2
    • Day 3
    • Day 4
    • Day 5
    • Day 6
    • Day 7
    • Afterword

Afterword_ Shao Hsuan Li

5/26/2017

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​What an amazing trip in last week! When I review the pictures I took, I remember all the site we visited and path we went through. I was thinking that take my friends who also studied landscape architecture in Taiwan to go through those places again. I like that the class gave me chance to see many under constructing projects instead of just visiting famous built projects. The day we visited SCAPE and living breakwaters was a rare chance to see different perspectives from designer, community and residents of a landscape project.   
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Change Nada_Hannah

5/26/2017

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This week made so many dreams a reality. This whole year I have been racking up a list of places I wanted to see in NYC and we hit most of them. There is something really satisfying about that feeling.
​My favorite part was the rooftop farm. I felt so connected to this project because  I have WWOOFed on a small organic urban farm and my parents own a permaculture farm. I always wonder if there is a way to incorporate this knowledge and experience into my major and here it was being applied! This part of the trip definitely ignited a spark.
​Another part of the trip that stands out is Dia Beacon and Storm King. These places were so different than any other place I have been. Also, like Jake said, there is something so surreal about experiencing Serra, Goldsworthy, Lyn, and Smithson firsthand.  
​The last part I really took a lot from was the waterfront parks. NYC never felt "coastal" to me until this week. I think the waterfronts in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island have such wonderful, strong qualities that give the city a lot of diversity.

​​Honestly, I can't thank you enough for this course​, I couldn't imagine finishing sophomore studio any better.

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Afterword

5/26/2017

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This week was incredible. I checked off so many boxes on things I wanted to see in NYC as well as so many things I had seen in Martin's slideshows. The thing that I was most worried about for this trip was using the subway alone to meet with the group every day. Although I only got on the wrong train once, I did find myself lost in the sauce at one point. I would say the only negative I had towards this trip was my bank account. Apparently I have expensive taste when it came to our lunch breaks. My favorite experience was Dia Beacon which sadly we didn’t have the entire group with us. I hope everyone gets the chance to see that as well as Storm King. I feel like a changed person after experiencing the works of Richard Serra, Michael Heiser, Andy Goldsworthy, and Maya Lin all in one day. Thank you everyone and thank you very much Martin
jm

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James Tynan - Afterword

5/25/2017

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The past week in New York was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in my 26 years. There was so much condensed into 7 days, and it was very intense, but the value that I got out of it greatly exceeded my expectations. I got extremely sunburnt, my feet were sore for days, and I spent way too much money, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. These photos are from three of my favorite sites; Storm King, Bryant Park, and Central Park (rain and all). It is hard to put the experience into words, being there, learning, analyzing, and engaging was just a perfect punctuation to the past year of school. I would absolutely recommend this course to any LA or architecture student.
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Richard Lukasiewicz: Reflection

5/25/2017

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The 7 Days in NYC is a course that opens an opportunity for committing to an extensive exploration of the landscapes present in NYC. In many ways that is what makes this course immensely important because looking at precedents for design inspiration allows for us to observe firsthand what we do and do not like. These observations can then be applied to our own designs through a variety of different methods. Everything from benches, pavements, plantings, sequence, layouts, and other aspects of design should be considered in these spaces. However I think the moments that we don't like are equally important to those that we did like because it presents us with the opportunity to critique a site and avoid certain design moves. With that being said, I will provide a brief overview/opinion of each day.

Day 1:

This is the day that the course began and really dove into the variety of sites in Manhattan. The main highlights of this day in my opinion were the Highline, Roosevelt Island, and Bryant Park (although the sites explored today were all worth witnessing). The Highline however was one of the only parks throughout this entire experience that still completely blows my mind with its orientation that seems to hover above everything else. The photograph below describes the moment that appealed to me the most throughout nearly the entire trip.
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Day 2:

The second day of the trip was interesting in that the Hudson River Waterfront on the west of Manhattan was challenged to the high temperatures of the day.​ The combination of cool air from the water and shade from plant materials became the significant focus for me throughout the day. Although the walk brought us through some very difficult areas when passing through stadiums or concrete jungles, much of the walk was well shaded, especially towards the south. Additionally we visited Governors Island, which had its positives and negatives. The historic part of the island provides a great deal of shade and scenery. The new addition however feels like it still needs more time to be truly enjoyed during a hot day. The lack of a canopy makes the walk to the hill uncomfortably warm, but the hill is still a wonderful experience in its own right.

Day 3:

The third day is a transect from Long Island City to the Gowanus Canal, which is primarily situated in the industrial areas of the city. There are some great sites throughout this experience, but one of my least favorite sites (Newton Creek) is explored throughout the day. This may have more to do with the difficulty of traveling throughout the area in the heat, but the Creek stood out to me as the most difficult walk of the entire period. To explore the site you need to walk all the way to a dead end and then all the way back out, which is slightly disappointing. Regardless, sites such as Gantry Park and the Brooklyn Grange are sites that are entirely new to me and exciting in their connection to the historical context of place.

Day 4:

The fourth day was a break from a guided tour and an opportunity for others to visit some of the sites that they may not be able to see in the near future. The places I chose to visit were in Lower Manhattan, but what excited me the most about this trip was the train station at the World Trade Center. I have previously visited the site for the memorial showing the endless waterfalls at the locations of the towers. However the station came by complete surprise to me, especially when I looked inside. It was an enormous below ground area that functions as a station would in cities such as Berlin. In other words, it was a large shopping mall that connected to a wide variety of different stations.

Day 5:

The fifth day was relatively short for me, but it gave me an opportunity to revisit a local site less than a mile from my household. The Conference House at Tottenville is the southernmost point in all of New York. It also functions as an essential point for waterway connectivity throughout New Jersey and parts of New York City. The place is generally empty whenever I visit, but the place was full of really cool events such as the Conference House being opened, and the design proposal being shown to the locals.

Day 6:

The sixth day became an opportunity for individuals to explore further into Brooklyn with a transect from the Brooklyn Bridge Park to the Jamaica Bay. I personally enjoyed biking much of the site due to flat terrain of the sites with the exception of Prospect Park. I did enjoy Prospect Park for some of the moments of sequence such as the walk through the tunnel into a gigantic field that you wouldn't expect to find in a huge city. However, one of the sites that I had mixed feelings about was Floyd Bennett Field. Due to the sites location, it is relatively hard to access by anything other than a car. The pathway to get to the site was separated by highways and covered in broken glass. With that being said, the park itself seems like an awesome place to just explore being that it comes with a campground and a plethora of abandoned buildings.

Day 7:

The last day of our experience brought about a rainy day, which changed the feel of the sites that we visited. The transect from the Lincoln Center to the Socrates Art Park brought about some very interesting parts of the city. I also learned that Central Park is absolutely amazing during a light rain and foggy weather. The weather conditions assist with the parks ability to feel like an escape from the urban streetscape. Lastly, the the Socrates Sculpture Garden is a site that I liked a lot because of how it felt like a place that wasn't designed by a professional that probably lives away from the community. It felt like an area that was truly the pride and joy of the community, despite it's lack of any real sequence or design elements.

Best Day: Day 1 because of the Highline, the airtram to Roosevelt Island, and the diversity of spaces.

Worst Day: Day 3 because of the weather in combined with the disconnectivity of Newton Creek and Gowanus Canal.
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Conclusing thoughts?

5/20/2017

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Use the last post to reflect on the overall experience of the city over the past week: offer feedback on your favorite or least favorite day (and why), as well as some of the most interesting (or most challenging) stops along the way. This can help me fine tune the next iteration of the course. Thanks for your patience and hard work!
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