Rockaway Trilogy

Rockaway Trilogy
Toward a Transitional Urbanism

Status: Concept
Video Editing: Yitian Xue
Instructor: Andrés Jaque

Final Work
Full 12min. Video Link <︎>

Abstract

- The project is a visual tale telling a story of how three places in Rockaway Queens look in a hundred years in both utopian and dystopian ways to bring up the question: How social, political, and environmental impacts will affect the appearance of the site and architecture? Rockaway functioned seasonally as one of the most popular summer resorts in New York before World War II. However, due to the afterwar housing shortage, the government converted the summer bungalows into year-round use to store people evicted from Manhattan. The conversion made Rockaway’s population double from 1941 to 1957. From 1960 more than 10 public housing projects were executed on this vulnerable land. This ruthless and irresponsible act caused the broken peninsula balance as well as irreversible social and natural deterioration.

- Based on the history of Slum Clearance, sea level rise, and the fact that the world is running out of sand, the story starts from a presumptive political decision: One day the government gives up the costly sand replenishment of Rockaway Beach and is convinced that the construction of a seawall on dunes as infeasible. Instead, they allow the water to submerge the peninsula.

- However, rather than abandon the existing buildings and relocate, the local residents decide to stay and be adaptive to the new environment by leveraging man’s free will to reshape the social structure and biological culture of the site.

- The goal of the adaptation is not to let the “architects”, a symbol of expertise, offer an “impeccable” solution to a specific client but to accumulate multidisciplinary knowledge to design imperfections and self-awakening to embrace the harsh nature and innate humanity. Only by establishing a symbiotic relationship between architecture, humans, and nature can we find a path toward true resiliency and sustainability.

- Most importantly, the story is not only trying to raise public attention on just Rockaway but all coastal communities on the planet where applications of adaptation are already happening and are in need of help and support. When water becomes the new “ground”, the story is willing to take it as a chance to bring up some crucial issues like land authorship, biology as culture, provisionality vs permanency and etc. on the table of discussion.

- A wet-together society is coming, are you ready?

Ch. 1 - Preface

In the early 20th century, Rockaway became the central repository for victims of Slum Clearance headed by Robert Moses. Apartments owned by people with lower incomes were replaced by government-controlled public housing. Meanwhile, a screening process divided the applicants into the “Deserving Poor” and “Undesirables”, the latter of which included single parents, people with multiple problems, released criminals and etc.

After World War II, more than 2000 families were brought, 80% received welfare and 75% were black, to live in Hammels-Rockaway with no compensation received.

Rockaway functioned seasonally as one of the most popular summer resorts in New York before World War II. However, due to the afterwar housing shortage, the government converted the summer bungalows into year-round use to store people evicted from Manhattan. The conversion made Rockaway’s population double from 1941 to 1957. From 1960, even more than 10 public housing projects were executed on this vulnerable land.

This ruthless and irresponsible act caused the broken peninsula balance as well as irreversible social and natural deterioration.

Although the rich ethnic diversity enriches Rockaway’s urban lifestyle, social segregation is deeply rooted among affluent people, the middle class, and the low-income.
In the future, not only Rockaway, all the coastal communities on the planet will probably have to live with water. This project is based on a presumptive governmental decision made under this foreseeable urban condition.

The government can no longer satisfy the high demand for sand replenishment to protect the peninsula from erosion. Therefore, on Jan. 1st, 2021, they decided...

Ch. 2 - The Right to Reinhabit - BELLE HARBOR

Affluent people had been living in Belle Harbor for a long time. The market price of a two-story house sometimes even went beyond one million dollars.

To secure the properties, the owners paid together to build giant glass domes around each block.

The costly glass structures were promised to be permanently durable to protect the affluent residents unaffected.

Ch. 3 - The Right to Reshape - ROXBURY

Roxbury was a small community surrounded by empty land. It is occupied by one to two-story houses that are partly submerged by water now.

In nature, a gecko will drop its tail when they feel threatened. Can a building drop its tail to adapt to a new environment?

If people could bring their home (completely or partially) to a new site and start a new life, how will such a movement impact the way we shape our society?

Ch. 4 - The Right to Re-Evolve - HAMMELS

Human being is the only creature that overcame the fear of fire. Taking up and domesticating fire is a milestone for human evolution and civilization.