Waterpod
Encyclopedia
The Waterpod was a community-based public art project in New York City in 2009. Open to the public, an ecosystem on a barge called the Waterpod visited the five boroughs at eight different piers for two weeks at a time during the summer of 2009, hosting a series of events. It was designed as a futuristic habitat and an experimental platform for assessing the design and efficacy of autonomous marine living systems in preparation for an assumed future.
A multinational team including artists, designers, marine engineers, and civic activists led by the artist Mary Mattingly alongside the New York City Office of the Mayor Special Projects, the United States Coast Guard
, and the New York City SBS Dockmaster Unit, this was a cross-disciplinary project that took place in the waterways of New York City in 2009.
"...The Waterpod provides space for: (I) community and artistic activity; (II) eco-initiatives including food grown with filtered rainwater; and (III) living space. It provides a model for mobile vessels that can provide relief to cities and countries struck by natural disasters, as well as a model for reshaping suburban landscapes to be a self-sustaining living system. The methods that make up the Waterpod provide people with necessary systems for rotational food supply, seasonal seed collection and soil-renewing compost, potable water, and mobile shelter with minimal upkeep..."
The Waterpod was an experiment in creatively using available, local reused materials from the New York Waste Stream:
"...The dome covers were constructed Waterpod’s from repurposed billboard vinyl...The soil was made in the Bronx from compost and sand, tested and donated from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation... Construction materials also included salvaged pieces of sunken vessels raised from the rivers bottom in the Rockaway and other areas."
A multinational team including artists, designers, marine engineers, and civic activists led by the artist Mary Mattingly alongside the New York City Office of the Mayor Special Projects, the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
, and the New York City SBS Dockmaster Unit, this was a cross-disciplinary project that took place in the waterways of New York City in 2009.
Route
The Waterpod Project route:- June 12 – June 21: South Street Seaport, Pier 17, ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
- June 22 – July 6: Sheepshead Bay Marina, Brooklyn
- July 7 – 20: Governor’s IslandGovernors IslandGovernors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
Yankee Pier - July 21 – August 3: West Harlem Piers Park, Manhattan
- August 4 – 17: Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5Brooklyn Bridge ParkBrooklyn Bridge Park is an park currently under construction on the Brooklyn waterfront in the vicinity of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. As of March 22, 2010 the first newly built section of the park, Pier 1, has been open to the public...
, Brooklyn - August 18 – August 31: Atlantic Salt Pier, Staten IslandStaten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
- September 1 – September 14: Concrete Plant ParkBronx RiverThe Bronx River, approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States. It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. The Bronx River is the only fresh water river in New York City....
, the Bronx - September 15 – October 15: World's Fair MarinaWorld's Fair MarinaThe World's Fair Marina is a public marina in Flushing Bay, Queens, New York. It is located at the northern edge of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and operated by the Marine Division of the Department of Parks and Recreation...
, Flushing, Queens
Goals
"...to fortify against the possibility of widespread climate change, desertification, and provide solutions for overpopulation and rising sea levels, the Waterpod offered a pathway to sustainable survival, mobility, and community building through a free, participatory project and event space that visited the five boroughs and Governors Island, for a voyage lasting from June to October 2009. The Waterpod’s mission has been to prepare, inform, and offer alternatives to current and future living spaces...""...The Waterpod provides space for: (I) community and artistic activity; (II) eco-initiatives including food grown with filtered rainwater; and (III) living space. It provides a model for mobile vessels that can provide relief to cities and countries struck by natural disasters, as well as a model for reshaping suburban landscapes to be a self-sustaining living system. The methods that make up the Waterpod provide people with necessary systems for rotational food supply, seasonal seed collection and soil-renewing compost, potable water, and mobile shelter with minimal upkeep..."
The Waterpod was an experiment in creatively using available, local reused materials from the New York Waste Stream:
"...The dome covers were constructed Waterpod’s from repurposed billboard vinyl...The soil was made in the Bronx from compost and sand, tested and donated from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation... Construction materials also included salvaged pieces of sunken vessels raised from the rivers bottom in the Rockaway and other areas."
External links
- Waterpod website
- ABC Good Morning America
- Mary Mattingly
- Interview with Lonny Grafman, founder of Appropedia.org
- Waterpod Project on Appropedia
- Eve K. Tremblay
- Waterpod Project on Radar
- Exit Art: Waterpod: Autonomy and Ecology
- Time Out New York: The Waterpod
- Nature Magazine: A Floating Island of Sustainability