A woven StorY oF the pASt And preSent oF IthAcA
AThesis by Dana Herrault
Cornell University Department of Architecture
Master of Architecture
December 2023
Advisors
Scott Ruff
Mustafa Faruki
Medina Lasansky
© 2023. All rights reserved.
There are many people in my life that collectively have made me who I am today. They are in many ways as much a part of this thesis as I am. Words fall short to express the depth of feeling I have for all of you. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my family, who have supported me and believed in me every step of the way. Secondly, I would like to thank my partner, Andy, who brought me peace throughout my time here. I would like to thank my thesis advisors Scott Ruff, Mustafa Faruki, and Medina Lasansky who have tirelessly encouraged me throughout this process. To my best friends, roommates, and classmates, Afo and Marlee, I am forever grateful for our friendship. You have listened to me, been there for me, laughed with me, cried with me, and accepted me like no one else in my life. To my remaining friends and colleagues, each one of you has touched my life. We are truly leaving Cornell together as family. To my thesis helpers, Eavan Flanagan and Helen Bennett, both of you are shining rays of light. I am so glad to have shared this time together. To my other professors, past and present, who have had a hand in shaping the person that I am today. Specifically, to Camden Whitehead, who laid the foundation for my passion for history and community. Finally, to the Cornell Architecture Department as a whole. This program and experience has changed me forever.
Today history is presented in museums or memorials, contained within exclusive walls as people that have occurred in the past and separate from one’s current reality.
In Ithaca you can go on walking tours or read the plaques littered around the city, which begins to spatialize history.
However, it does not embed history into the everyday lived experience.
These memories are essential to the human social condition. As “a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
One cannot truly be of or rooted to a place without an understanding of history. “The place is the concrete manifestation of man’s dwelling, and his identity depends on his belonging to places.”
We must tell this history through architecture as “we may live without her, and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her.” As Ruskin states “How many pages of doubtful record might we not often spare, for a few stones left one upon the another!” :
To understand how to tell history one can look to Walter Benjamin who states that while the historian limits himself to world history, or the macrocosm: a web of events from incalculabe threads of cause and effect.
: The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin, 2019
The chronicler recounts the way of the world, minor events in his town or region, or the microcosm. Through this the chronicler is able to gain a wider understanding of history as they are able to relay the larger world history through smaller, local narratives.
As the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle wrote, “the history of the world is nothing but the biography of great men [everyday lives].”
The ground is the container for these biographies, as it is where all human beings live and shapes our perception and behavior. Timothy Ingold states the ground is a palimpsest of histories or an old parchment used several times. The diagram shows the section of a parchment, with T0 being the oldest type, as the parchment is scraped and reused, T0 is still visible in the present T2. This is a representation of the ground as the past, while scraped and erased, still holds traces today.
And like a tree, people leave roots or traces in the ground. These traces of history are thought to be stacked on top of one another and evaluated as individual and separate generations, like the diagram on the left. An archeologist always digs down to find the past. However, Timothy Ingold states that these generations are actually intertwined like a braid, never ending. We are all connected in this web. The past is not occurring separately from us, but we are a continuation of the past extending into the future.
thIS theSIS revALueS the LAYerS In the ground And BrIngS mAterIALItY And SpAtIALItY to the BrAId oF hIStorY And humAnItY. thIS theSIS weAveS the pASt In the preSent For the Future occupAntS underStAndIng oF theIr pLAce In IthAcA.
To begin to conceptualize this, Timothy Ingold’s two diagrams can be combined where the braided connections weave together the layers in the ground.
I. Add: bring history to the surface
III. reorgAnIze: to reorder disparate histories
Iv. reApproprIAte: employ or adapt history for an understanding differing from its original purpose
II. remove: remove what is above to reveal the history below
This braid can be drawn in four ways. The first represents the braid as a solid, which adds or brings history to the surface. The second is to represent the braid as a void, or to remove what is above and reveal the history below. The third is to braid by reorganizing the layers. And the fourth is to braid by re-appropriating your understanding of the layers. All four techniques bring the past into the present.
A few days ago
Experiments with trash begin to spatialize these concepts. Trash is a relatively thin layer of history on the ground that reveals the occupation of someone in a place within the past few days.
The first test is to cast a solo cup found on the street. Which solidifies the history of the person who drank out of that cup.
The second test is to make an impression of collected trash or to create a void of history.
The third technique tested is to frame an organization of collected trash for a new reading, stringing together disparate histories.
The last test is to reappropriate collected solo cups by painting them, allowing for a new understanding these objects and their history.
IthAcA
Tompkins County
Fingerlakes Region
New York State
Population: 32,108
Size: 6.07 sqm
Elevation: 404 ft
And who has never been to Ithaca?
Who is not familiar with her rugged environment, the sea ring that oppresses her, the austere intimacy she imposes on us, che silence in adding she draws for us?
Ithaca summarizes us as a book, she goes with us to our very selves, she discovers for us the sound of waiting. Because waiting has a ring: it preserves the echo of departed voices.
Ithaca reveals to us life’s heartbeat, she makes us the accomplices of distance, blind sentinels of a path that is taking shape without us, that we will be unable to forget because ignorance does not know oblivion. It is painful to wake up one day and gaze at the sea that enfolds us, that annoints us with salt and baptizes us like new children. We remember the days of shared wine, the words, not the echo; the hands, not the diluted gesture. I see the sea that surrounds me, the misty azure in which you became lost, I check the horizon with exhausted eagerness, I allow my eyes a moment to perform their beautiful function; then, I turn my back and direct my footsteps toward Ithaca.
The poet Francisca Aguirre wrote about Ithaca as a place that “preserves the echo of departed voices.” Which is the perfect site to braid the past in the present.
What happened on the ground of Ithaca is shown in a series of layered maps beginning in 1720.
Tiohero Ganiataragechiat
precoLonIAL - henhAwk - the AnnuAL FISh dAnce
“The dance welcomed the fish back and gave them thanks. It would shake the ground, to remind the fish where to go. The movements in the dance represent how the fish move through the water. It was a celebration, too.”
1750 - BrItISh And morAvIAn AmBASSAdorS
“We went in the plain through the high grass, and crossed a creek. There I saw a beech tree, more than six feet in diameter and eighty feet high. It was growing late, we determined to remain and put up a hut... The Gajuka brought us turtle’s eggs and dried eels.”
By this time, Ithaca was occupied by Cayuga or Gayogohó:no native populations. The terrain was mostly swamp in the lowlands and dense forest surrounding. The name Cayuga translates to, “People of the Great Swamp.” There was indigenous cultivated ground where the Ithaca Commons, in downtown, is located today. Traces of indigenous occupation are where the circles are located on the map and burial grounds are where the “U” shape is located. As you can see, both of these occur also occur around the Ithaca Commons. The red dashed lines shows the trails the indigenous people created through the landscape following Ithaca’s contours and creeks. Excerpts from narratives of this time paint a picture of the landscape. A Gayogohó:no narrative of the annual fish dance at what is today called Taughannock Falls describes how they would shake the ground to remind the fish where to go. The second excerpt is from 1750 from a Moravian ambassador who was led through Ithaca by indigenous people describing high grass, creeks, and 80 foot tall trees.
The next layer shows Ithaca by the 1800’s.
-
- Five
are
Indigenous Trails
the
Village Site
Burial Site
Traces of Occupation
Area of Cultivation Swamp
Tiohero Ganiataragechiat
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1791 - The first road is built in the county. ~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1791 - The first road is built in the county.
1791 - The first road is built in the county.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
1803 - JeremIAh BLAckmAn
“They passed through an area described as ‘the roughest road you ever see, and the wheels would go down in the mud up to the hubs, then up on a log.’
The entire trip was a process of lifting the wagon and then pushing it over logs and around the thick brush.”
The first white settlers arrived in 1788, the black squares indicate where they constructed their cabins along the trails and on the already cleared cultivated ground. The first watermill was built along the water that is shown by the black circle. By 1789, George Washington mandated that the Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state. By 1791 the first road was built, which was an expansion of the previous indigenous trail going North. The narrative excerpt is from 1805 of an enslaved man, Jeremiah Blackman, who was brought to this area. Describing the roughest road you ever see, with muddy roads and thick brush, making it hard for travel.
The next layer shows Ithaca by the 1850’s.
Ganiataragechiat
- Five
Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by Tuscaroras as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Cayuga Inlet
Ithaca&OwegoRailroad
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
1600 - Iroquois - Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by Tuscaroras the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
1600 - Five Iroquois Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by Tuscaroras as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Indigenous Trails
Indigenous Trails
Indigenous Trails
Village Site
Village Site
Burial Site
Burial Site
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1791
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of with 49 surveyed lots.
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
with 49 surveyed lots.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
1788 - First come to Tompkins County build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish throughout the county.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1817 - Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a hotel, five two-story houses, thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a and commercial establishments.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
1821 - Ithaca is incorporated as a
Traces of Occupation Area of Cultivation
Traces of Occupation
Area of Cultivation
Burial Site of Occupation of Swamp
Swamp
1789 - Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands state.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1817 - County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from A County was constructed to solidify its position.
1817 - Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
1817 - Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
1821 - Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
1821 - is incorporated as a
1821 - Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
1791 - The first is built in the county.
1791 - The first road is built in the county.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
1791 - The first road is built in the county. ~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in in of
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1862 - SArAh pArLmer
“On September 3, 1862 she left Ithaca. “It was one of those mornings, peculiar to that beautiful month. Deliciously cool, with soft breezes whispering in the tree tops, then sweeping low to shake from the grass-blades a million diamond drops...The deep hush of everything but soft-sighing winds seemed to rush over me with overwhelming sadness, till for a moment, as I thought of the two little girls whom I was leaving motherless.”
1891 - henrY St. John
“Vitrified bricks were laid on a two-inch bed of sand atop six inches of concrete for 700 feet of East State Street. That brick surface cost $40,000 in 1892... He also served on the Creek, Drainage and Park Commission working to eliminate the problem of flooding which plagued Ithaca each year.”
By 1817, Tompkins County was created, named after the New York State governor at the time. And by 1821, Ithaca was recognized by the state and incorporated as a village. Roads and railroads were developed, based off of the indigenous trails, you can especially see this along Linn street, some others follow the general direction. Water was diverted, and new names were given to the landscape. The top excerpt is from 1862 where a woman named Sarah Parlmer went off to be a nurse in the Civil War, an uncommon task for woman at the time. Upon leaving Ithaca for the war, there was a deep-hush of everything but soft-sighing winds that overwhelmed her with sadness. The bottom excerpt is from 1891 of Henry St. John who was on the Paving Commision in Ithaca where he laid 700 feet of brick roads, and worked to eliminate flooding, a still present issue in Ithaca today.
A Short History of Tompkins County by Jane Marsh Dieckmann, 1986
Lives Passed: Biographical Sketches from Central New York by Carol Kammen, 1984
Lastly, the next layer shows Ithaca today.
1600 - Five Iroquois
-
Ganiataragechiat
- Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
and later
as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Oneida,
by
- Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
- Five Iroquois Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by Tuscaroras as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
1600 - Five Iroquois Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later joined by Tuscaroras as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
as the League of Six Nations. Today they are known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Indigenous Trails
Indigenous Trails
Indigenous Trails
Village Site
Village Site
Village Site
Burial Site
Burial Site
Burial Site
Traces of Occupation
Traces of Occupation
Area of Cultivation
Area of Cultivation
Traces of Occupation Area of Cultivation
Swamp
Swamp
- Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
1779 - Major General John Sullivan sends troops through the county, who destroy the Native American settlements, including a large village called Coreorgonal "where we keep the pipe of peace." The village had twenty-five long houses of bark, set in a semicircle inside a stockade.
- First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
- George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
- Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
1805 - Simeon DeWitt published a map of Ithaca with 49 surveyed lots.
- By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
- First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
1788 - First white settlers come to Tompkins County and build cabins on site of the present DeWitt Park. Pioneers continue to establish settlements throughout the county.
- Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
- Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
- The first road is built in the county.
- Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
- George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1789 - George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S. Cayuga native populations surrender their lands to the state.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
- By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
1810 - By this time the town had developed a three-story hotel, five two-story houses, and thirty frame dwellings of one story, as well as a schoolhouse and buildings for various commercial establishments.
- Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1817 - Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
- Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
1817 - Tompkins County is created by an act of legislature. Named after Daniel E. Tompkins who was governor of NYS from 1807-1817. A County Courthouse was constructed to solidify its position.
1821 - Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
1821 - Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
- Ithaca is incorporated as a village.
1791 - The first road is built in the county.
1791 - The first road is built in the county.
- The first road is built in the county.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
~1800 - Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
- Abram Markle house - Ithaca's first frame house.
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
- Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1828 - Ezra Cornell arrives in Ithaca in search of work.
1930’s Anita Reed
“On Saturday mornings in the 1930s I took my weekly 12-block walk to my piano lesson on South Cayuga Street with my music book tucked under my arm and the 50 cents to pay for my hour long lesson clutched in my hand. My piano teacher, Miss Jessie Johnson, who was quite advanced in years at that time, claimed to have been the first black graduate from Ithaca High School.”
The grid is mostly the same as the 1850’s, with the major changes occurring in the bottom left, where large stores like Wegmans required a different urban grid, and the development of Cornell and Ithaca College. The narrative above is from 1930’s of a girl, Anita Reed who walks 12 blocks to her piano lesson to pay 50 cents for her hour long session. Her teacher was the first black graduate from Ithaca High School.
I. Add: bring history to the surface
III. reorgAnIze: to reorder disparate histories
Iv. reApproprIAte: employ or adapt history for an understanding differing from its original purpose
II. remove: remove what is above to reveal the history below
: Diagrams of operations
To bring back those earlier operations of add, remove, reorganize, and reappropriate. These techniques are applied to the layered histories of Ithaca.
Beginning with this book, which stacks the maps of Ithaca and allows the past to carve or remove the layer above it, bringing the past pathways and names of Ithaca to the surface.
Ground Conditions
These are books of the narratives previous mentioned stacked oldest to newest. The top book only keeps words that speak about the ground. The bottom book only keeps words that speak about emotions of the human condition. Finding a commonality between the narratives and weaving them together through the act of removing.
These are photos of textures that would have been found in a swamp before Ithaca was settled, and maybe would have been found along the indigenous trails. Tests are done to re-appropriate the textural qualities of this history.
Clay stamps are made from the plants.
Then proceeds to stamp with paint. : Stamps of plants
These are city textures today along what would have been the indigenous trail.
: Photos of textures in the city of Ithaca
Charcoal rubbings reappropriate them into shapes.
: Charcoal rubbings of textures in the city of Ithaca
Past - Present
This book overlays the textures of the past swamp and present city. The mylar allows you to only view two at a time creating compositions that further re-appropriate your understanding of history. As you flip through the book, on the left the past is ontop of the present and on the right side the present is on top of the past.
Lastly, photographs taken of Ithaca throughout history are placed around the map to start to spatialize these photos. The images reveal the changing ground conditions over time, from mud, to brick, to its current pavement.
The last book reorganizes these photos to view these disparate histories as a compiled ground section of Ithaca over time
Building off of these studies, the translation of the braid at a specific sites is explored, located at a points in Ithaca of overlapping histories. The sites are along the indigenous trail, the oldest pathway in Ithaca to pierce through as many layers as possible.
313 N Aurora St Ithaca
1890
The initial site of exploration is along N Aurora St. Prior to the buildings construction, this was where an indigenous trail cut across a creek. It was built as a residence in 1890 by William Henry Miller, who coincidentally went to architecture school at Cornell. The building is now operating as a medical office.
At Site 0 on the map you can see where the trail and the creek cut through the house.
The idea is to slice through the house where the trail cuts across it and infill it with a weaving of history.
The diagram shows the heights, or layers, of each history along the cut. For instance the current floor plates of the house as well as the level of the historic creek, mud, and trees which would have been on the site during the 1720’s. While this diagram expounds on the physical layers of history it also alludes to the emotional layers.
These are a series of study models to try to braid these heights together. By carving out windows at these heights in study model 6.
The braid is also tested by reorganizing the floor plates to include historic heights in studies 2-5. These studies inspired the next series to follow.
The next series of four sites are located also along the indigenous trail, creating a series of interventions to embed history into the everyday life.
As mentioned previously, monuments and memorials are tucked away from everyday life and allow one to separate themselves from history rather than engage with it. Therefore, these sites are located at places that most of us engage with on a daily basis.
The first site engages with driving.
The second engages with parking.
The third is walking to enter a space.
The fourth site is inside of a building.
This model shows the sites piercing through the layers of history.
The first site is located on the 300 block of N Tioga St. This site is located on indigenous cultivated ground which is interpreted as potentially having been used to grow the ‘three sisters’ – maize, beans, and squash. In the 1800’s, this site would have been used by carriages. In the 1850’s, it became a train track, which today is used for driving vehicles.
The second site is the parking lot behind 308 N Tioga St. It is also located on indigenous cultivated ground. In the 1800’s, the site was divided by the border of a military tract owned by Simeon DeWitt. Military tracts are lands given to compensate soldiers for fighting in the Revolutionary War. This land was given out after the removal of indigenous people.
The third site is located at the entrance of DeWitt park. This site is also on indigenous cultivated ground. The park is where the first two families settled in Ithaca in 1788. There also used to be a bandstand on the site in the 1900’s, which hosted Federick Douglass to speak after being refused by many other locations.
Finally, the fourth site is in the grocery store, Green Star, previously located on indigenous cultivated ground. Beginning in 1803 this land was set aside for a school and remained that way till the 1970’s. Green Star was founded in 1971.
The heights of these histories resulted in diagrams recording the layers of each time period.
Each site is then taken through a series of design studies. Using the diagrammed heights as a template in which to test the techniques of adding, removal, reorganization, and reappropriation.
Each intervention doesn’t disrupt the current programming of the site, but alters the perception of that activity by modifying how and the pace at which that action takes place.
For instance, the addition on the road, is a speed bump to slow the cars down.
To reorganize the site, is to add more sidewalk, causing a pinch point to slow the cars down.
To re-appropriate the site is to add a series of windowed walls, in which to pass through and view reality through an overlayment of history. The windows are constructed at each historic height. The walls angled position forces the viewer to slow down while passing through them.
For the parking lot, the studies test raising or embedding a parking spot.
This study adds a walled parking spot, allowing the driver to linger and look out through the windows.
At the entrance to the park, the hedges are allowed to grow taller in the model on top creating an enclosed space. The hedges are trimmed in the model on the bottom for views into the park.
This study depresses the sidewalk, allowing rain water and snow to gather at the bottom.
In this study, windowed walls are added to form an entrance to the park, while framing views of everyday life.
Lastly, the studies in Green Star test raising the roof and depressing the floor, to call attention to the indigenous trail.
The final tests extend the grocery shelving to create compressed areas in the aisles. They also test adding windowed walls to frame views in which to reappropriate your understanding of a grocery store.
The final renders are a combination of these tactics. First, bringing you back to the collage of history of the first site.
To the final intervention, which employs a speed bump to ensure cars will move slower. In addition, angled walls are added to create a forced perspective when driving with windows to history.
At the second site...
The final intervention is an additional parking space along the line of the military tract. The space is depressed into the ground, with windowed walls on either side.
At the third site...
The final intervention raises the sidewalk, to slow the approach to the entrance of the intervention. Windowed walls look out through history.
At the fourth site...
Where the trail intersects with the floor, it is depressed with ramps on either side. The windowed walls reach up to 12 feet making an impression and raising the ceiling. Additionally, the windowed walls hold historic foods like maize, beans, and squash, with windows overlaying their history.
The final site model is of this corner of Green Star.
From this angle, you can see the sloping floor and raised ceiling conditions.
In this view, you can see the windows which frame the historical produce behind them.
These tactics suggest a tool guide for further installations along the indigenous trail in Ithaca. As well as, these studies provide a canvas for continual additions as time and space more forward.
In addition, these studies, while expansive, begin a larger search for what it means to look deeper into the surface of our everyday experience and connect to the layers beneath.
thIS theSIS revALueS the LAYerS In the ground And BrIngS mAterIALItY And SpAtIALItY to the BrAId oF hIStorY And humAnItY. thIS theSIS weAveS the pASt In the preSent For the Future occupAntS underStAndIng oF theIr pLAce In IthAcA.
12.07.2023
Milstein Dome 10:00am
“The Empire State, as you love to call it, was once laced by our trails...trails that we had trod for centuries - trails worn so deep by the feet of the Iroquouis that they became your roads of travel, as your possessions eat into those of my people. Your roads still traverse those same lines of communications which bound one part of the Long House to the other.”
On May 4, 1847, Cayuga Chief Waowawanaonk, also known as Peter Wilson, delivered this speech before the New York Historical Society. “Waowawanaonk” means “They hear his voice.”
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