1) In your field notebooks, DRAW (by hand) A MAP of the Circle Line route (including the five boroughs of New York, two rivers and our route). Label the New town Creek, Wastewater Treatment Plant and the location of the future Big U. Scan and upload this map to your LP.
2) OBSERVE AND DOCUMENT the systems and infrastructure that you see via drawing and photography (upload 3-5 images and/or sketches to your LP along with the following questions).
Depart from Pier 83
Statue of Liberty!
Waste Cars!!!
The water waste facilities!!! The EGG!!!
Reflect on the different perspectives offered from the boat compared to your zone walk conducted on foot, and answer the following:
– Compared to what you saw when walking, what can you see and sense differently from the boat?
When I walk along the coast, I do not feel the sense of danger or threat that might be possibly brought by the sea or climate change. However, when I was on the boat looking at the island and its coast, I do feel the island is endangered since I could see the sea level is actually pretty closed to ground level, which is not able to see when I walk on the ground.
It is also easy to realize that manhattans is surrounded by waters from three sides, which again makes it a dangerous place to stay when the sea level rises.
– New York seem prepared for sea-level rise?
I don’t know when the sea-level would rise to a dangerous height. However, it seems a killing sea-level rise would not happen next year. As protective facilities or infrastructure were planned to be built, I think the preparing for sea-level rise is taking place, and NYC is quite on the right track in the progress. – What areas appear to be vulnerable to coastal flooding? Are any effects of Hurricane Sandy visible?
I see there was a rows of town houses standing along the coastal line of New Jersey. It seems pretty vulnerable since they are really closed to the current sea level. And it seems they’ll defiantly be flooded when the sea level rises.
We also passed Battery Tunnel, which located underground. It was flooded seriously by Hurricane Sandy. And over 50 people died in that accident. Though we cannot see when we’re on the boat, but the narrator talks about this.
– Do you see any evidence of the Big U being constructed?
On an island located at the south eastern direction of Battery Park, there is a elevated coastal area which looks quite similar to the Big U project. It’s an elevated land which somehow prevents the flood and absorbs the water in order to alleviate the flood.
Besides that, I didn’t see any evidence. I feel kind of puzzled. Big U is built for
– Are you able to determine which areas of the coast are built on landfill?
After I check out the map Jamie put in the slide, I kind of had a sense about which part of the island was built on landfill. It’s like southwestern part, south part and the southeastern part of the island. And these parts seem have fewer people walking there, less shops and commercial places.
But I cannot really tell which part is built on landfill just by looking at it. I don’t see big difference there.
Do you see any sea walls, reinforcements or marsh areas?
I didn’t the Big U the establishment around Wall Street, to my surprise. But I did see some coastal area around new town creek has a simple wall that seems to be built for preventing flooding.
– What kind of systems do you see interacting (people, water, boats, etc.)?
Many sight-seeing boats, people ride it to see the view of Manhattan. And along the coast, there are many parks for people to hang out and spending their spare time.
There is a water waste infrastructure nearby the New Town Creek. We passed by the bridge connecting Manhattan and Queens, above the Roosevelt Island.
– How do you think the New York City coastline will change over the next 50 years?
First, there must be more anti-flood facilities built along the coast line, as it is said that the Big U is starting its construction soon from this of next year.
I also believe there would be fewer people and shops existed along the coast. As the awareness of climate change arises, more and more people would move to inner island because they choose to believe that it would be dangerous to live nearby the coast because of the possible flooding happening every year.
The road or highway might be built into a higher level, since the flood might destroy the road then the traffic would be torn down.
Also, according the Big U plan, the anti-flooding infrastructure would be applied with the entertaining function. In this way, people might come to the coast to spend their time playing sports or having a picnic.
2) What is a beautiful object/design that you admire from your home country that has been in production for longer than fifty years? Write a brief description (around a paragraph) about this object’s history on your Learning Portfolio and include an image. Come prepared to present about this object next week, please bring it with you if you can.
Comb made of horn. The comb is carved from a whole piece of ox horn. The production requires high skill of experienced artisan, and a careful handcrafting production process.
It’s a long-lasting pieces. Would not be eroded by air or water. Though it is somehow fragile because it cannot stand violent fall, people will cherish it because it is expensive and its high value as a daily personal care tool(people believe the material is good for scalp health).
It has been produced in China for over a thousand years. It’s a traditional gift for female.
LONG LIFE DESIGN VIDEO
Watch the Design Talks video on Long Life Design and the following questions on your LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88pGtW6oio
1) How would you describe Nagaoka’s “non-designing” design practices?
As in the video Nagaoka talks about “Long-life designs”, I think what “non-designing” means designing products not by just coming up with ideas for making the products stand out for its newness. Designers should find the ever-lasting elements that will transcend eras, and start with these elements to create products that root in people’s life context and functions well. It’s about paying close attention to the life we are living, making detailed observation, and even using the things that really existed in our life to make design.
2) How do your opinions of “good” design compare with Nagaoka’s?
Would you define good design differently, how so?
I would say my concept of “good design” is pretty close to Magaoka’s idea. A good design should use honest material and form, functions properly, easy to be repaired again and again which could make the product lifespan longer. Product should be imple to use and maintained. And the design should be made for our current context, it should be made from the roots of our life (so I don’t appreciate the post-modern design, LOL).
3) Nagaoka says that we have entered a new era where people want to buy things that mean something to them, that truly matters, and that we have entered a new era. Do you feel these ideas are specific to Japan or are applicable to other countries too? What evidence do you have of your opinion (what makes you say yes or no)?
I think it is a common thing, at least that is what I also feel back in China. As the information sharing becomes global, everyday people get more and more overwhelmed by the rapid-spread news from social networks. As we have to see all the continents and countries are actually connect together, they are interdependent, we ought to and should be worried about disasters happened outside our own country. For example, the leakage of nuclear power station happened at Japan few years ago causes panic globally. People feel like the earth in danger. And as the awareness of climate change rises, people feel there is an urgent need to do something as the earth is getting warmer and warmer.
So at this point, when people feel insecure, their desire to get something stable something eternal would increase, in this way I predict they would prefer something that really and would always matter to them.
4) What kind of design do you think appeals to young people today?
Currently I think the shopping trend to young people really focuses on the visual stimulation. It is about how can they be unique and cool comparing to the mass. It is fashion trend, what is hot on the internet or Instagram.
However, this is temporary and not long lasting as what the video is talking about. The fast paced fashion and cheap/affordable mass production products is going against long-lasting design’s ideology. This is sad to me, because personally I think some beautiful and good things are eternal and valuable, just like art or paintings that were preserved for so many centuries.
5) Near the end of the program, the host of the program says the future of design could be, “people who make things with care and people who use them with care” and that this could be a new form of prosperity. Do you agree? Why?
As the program said “it could be”, I would agree there is a possibility that both the maker and the user would keep their respect of everything in this world, making and maintaining objects in our life. However, I don’t see it would be happening in recent 20 or 30 years. It’s still too far for all the people to realize the eternal value in some objects. I think it is more like an instinct for people to seek something new, the resources that hasn’t been used and possibly people can get more advantage from that newness, just like animal would do. And this is what design should try to achieve with its educating function in the future development.
6) What do you think of the student projects shown at the end of the program?
It is great as a concept piece, but it is quite unrealistic for every one to grow cotton to make a garment, as it could not be mass applied for individual people in everyday life. In this fast-paced world, we need factories and a manufacture to make things faster and better. And it would worthy to explore how to make the process more friendly and long-lasting in the perspective of the whole industry.
7) Do you consider yourself a long-life designer? Would you like to become one?
I think I really just started design career, there is so much to learn. But my concept is pretty closed to Nagaoka’s. And personally when I do shopping choices and when I use things in my everyday life I do follow similar ideology. And I do like to become one, but also it would take a while to explore how to become such a designer in digital industry.
