this first image is of an existing orphanage in east islip, located just below center in the aerial. the intervention in this case would be by renovation, although the piece of land just below the train tracks is enticing to me. maybe there could be some dialogue between the two?
the next image is from northern manhattan. i think this may be the site you use for your boat club program, though, Dan. i was looking in particular at the peninsula/island.
i intend to look more on foot and bike today in haarlem and north. both of the sites so far have a connection with water and train tracks among other things. the train with its motion and connection to time mean something in the way of relating transience and one's fixed location relative to its travel. water, whether it is as dominant or not in both of these prospects will find its way into the project for its element.
while the idea of using a site isolated in the forest, mountains, or on a remote waterway also appeals....i think some reference point (urban) in the context of the orphanage program would be beneficial. maybe i'm wrong..................
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I think for an orphanage, connection to surroundings seems crucial. It seems that an orphan can already be seen as being in a state of isolation, I'm not sure it would be beneficial to a child to amplify that isolation through the siting of the building...
Also Matt, I have an adopted brother, I will try to ask my mother about the orphanage that he was in...
I'm not sure if this helps, but from what I know, it seems that connections between individuals becomes very strong and very important. I know that my brother, while he was in the orphanage, was 1 of a group of three children who were never apart...
i agree...about no more need for further isolation or dislocation. i went ou this weekend to inwood, harlem, and northern manhattan looking for something. i'm still not set on anything except for the realization that the building should be in some degree of an urban context. there's an abandoned stretch of factory lofts on 126th st. where 127th st. meets it just east of amsterdam ave. this is entirely urban with no apparent connection to nature save st. nicholas park a block to the northeast. another spot was in high bridge park on the hill north of washington bridge and in between the washington bridge and alexander hamilton bridge. i entered in the far north of the park by 201st st. and made my way into an apparently forgotten complex of paths. lookouts, and tunnels.
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