HISTORIES

THE NYC TAX PHOTOS USED FOR PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS TO DOCUMENT VALUES ARE ALSO A VALUABLE CULTURAL RESOURCE.  PERIODICALLY UPDATED, THEIR DOCUMENTATION OF CHANGE PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO STILL RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT MAY NO LONGER BE PRESENT IN A PLACE.   RESULTINGLY, THE TAX PHOTOS ARE CULTURAL ARTEFACTS, MAKING A FINANCIALLY DRIVEN PROJECT SUCH AS PROPERTY ASSESSMENT INTO A CULTURAL ONE.  WE SEE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ISSUE SIMILARLY – HAVING A TECHNICAL PURPOSE, AND CULTURAL ONE AS WELL.  NOT ONLY ACCOMMODATING TENANTS AFFORDABLY, BUT SPEAKING TO LOCATION, COMMUNITY AND HISTORY, OUTWARDLY IN THE WAY THAT NYC LIVING EMBODIES.   OUR PROJECT ENVISIONS EACH BUILDING AS A CULTURAL RESOURCE PROVIDING NEW INSIGHT OF ITS SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD. 

NEIGHBORHOOD EMBLEMS

BECAUSE MANY OF THE SITES ARE IN NEIGHBORHOODS UNDERGOING CHANGE, THINGS THAT ARE LOCALLY RELEVANT, SUCH AS AN INDIVIDUAL BUILDING, MAY HAVE VANISHED FROM TODAY’S VIEW.  OTHER ASPECTS, SUCH AS NATURAL PHENOMENA WERE NEVER VISIBLE TO BEGIN WITH. OUR CONCEPT VISUALIZES THESE LATENT QUALITIES AS BUILDING FACADES - PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF FEATURES THAT ARE INTRINSIC TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS.  APPARITIONS OF INTANGIBLE THINGS THAT ARE EMBEDDED IN A PLACE.   FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE HARLEM SITE, A TOWNHOUSE IMAGE COULD HIGHLIGHT HOW A BUILDING TYPOLOGY FORMS THE ESSENCE OF THE AREA.  FOR BROWNSVILLE SITE, AN IMAGE OF A HOUSE FROM THE NEARBY WEEKSVILLE FREE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY RAISES THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.  FOR THE SOUTH RICHMOND SITE, A GEOLOGIC IMAGE COULD LINK THE ROLE THAT LANDFILL HAS PLAYED IN THE AREA’S LANDSCAPE.  THE POTENTIAL FOR ANY CONTENT IMAGE IS OPEN, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY INPUT WOULD BE SOUGHT.   ONCE SELECTED, IMAGERY IS ABSTRACTED INTO PIXELS WHICH ARE THEN DEVELOPED AS BRICK PATTERNS FOR STREET FACING FACADES.