Evident in the landscape and built environment, Governors Island has been imprinted with the deep history of various ownerships, and their dreams made physical.  Orange Obscura seeks to harness these dreams with spaces created through a density of material.  These spaces reach both inward and out to the surrounding context, inducing an imaginative atmospheric experience for the current and future owners of Governors Island and the people of New York City.

 

The design of Orange Obscura relies on materials that limit the environmental impact on Governors Island and beyond.  Throughout NYC new projects, the collective dreams of individuals, are constantly being built. Construction sites adorned with mandated orange safety mesh and fencing, represent the future through the process of a dream being made permanent. Once a project is actualized, all temporary materials are discarded.  The material goal of Orange Obscura is to utilize and reshape discarded construction mesh and fencing into the primary dimensional installation objects - cones.  The cones are supported by a diagrid of bamboo secured with cables. The bamboo is slated for harvest and donation by the Bronx Zoo, a source suggested by the American Bamboo Society.  Prior to installation, all cones are stored and assembled off-site in order to eliminate on-site waste.  Once installed, the individual spaces made from these cones facilitate activity for a certain amount of individuals or groups.   

 

At the closing of the 2014 summer season, the Orange Obscura pavilion disassembles into its original raw materials. The cones return to flattened sheets for use as barriers that adhere to OSHA standards.  The bamboo and cable are to be donated to the Community Gardens of New York City as landscaping elements.  As is true to the nature of the construction mesh material replaced by something more permanent, Orange Obscura, once gone, will live in the dreams and memories of those who experience Governors Island during the summer of 2014.