Tidal Oracle
︎ Tags: GSAPP, culture, 2017
Columbia GSAPP Fall 2017
Critic: Tei Carpenter
The pier’s main purpose is to measure three ecological conditions of the East River: tides, topography and water quality. It is publicly accessible as a bath which conveys the results of its measurements through its pools.
As the pier pivots around the observation tower the water levels in the pools change in accordance with the measured depth of the river bed, showing an abstracted version of its topography. As the tide is mostly caused by the sun and the moon the tower turns into a lunar observatory at night and functions as a sun dial during the day. As the pier drifts through the river it also measures pollution levels on a daily basis. Every pool is showing the current concentration of a different pollutant through the intensity of color in the pools lighting.
The project aims to evoke a series of vertical movements of the human body while the horizontal movement is mainly executed by the structure itself. Descent (into the pool) and ascent (to the tower) are central elements of the design referring to the tidal movements. While the vertical motion is individually controllable, the horizontal freedom is limited to the rectangular plane of the bath for the four hours visitors spend on the pier after embarking through one of the docks. The bathing experience consists of five pools of different temperature, two current pools filled with filtered East River water in order to make the current palpable, a sequence of saunas and a steam bath.
As the pier pivots around the observation tower the water levels in the pools change in accordance with the measured depth of the river bed, showing an abstracted version of its topography. As the tide is mostly caused by the sun and the moon the tower turns into a lunar observatory at night and functions as a sun dial during the day. As the pier drifts through the river it also measures pollution levels on a daily basis. Every pool is showing the current concentration of a different pollutant through the intensity of color in the pools lighting.
The project aims to evoke a series of vertical movements of the human body while the horizontal movement is mainly executed by the structure itself. Descent (into the pool) and ascent (to the tower) are central elements of the design referring to the tidal movements. While the vertical motion is individually controllable, the horizontal freedom is limited to the rectangular plane of the bath for the four hours visitors spend on the pier after embarking through one of the docks. The bathing experience consists of five pools of different temperature, two current pools filled with filtered East River water in order to make the current palpable, a sequence of saunas and a steam bath.
