michael sorkin: new york city steady state

'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - future proposal


as part of venice biennale's international architecture exhibition this year, the U.S. pavilion
showcases the work of seven architects and collectives who act independently as forces
for social change. curated by michael rooks of the high museum of art and jonathan solomon
of 306090 - workshopping: an american model for architectural practice consists of ground
breaking projects. each offer proactive solutions to critical, present-day problems through better
architectural design-from re-envisioning how cities can increase production of locally-grown food,
to providing engineering solutions to storm and flood disaster prevention, to transforming NYC
into a more eco-friendly city.

one of the projects on display is 'new york city (steady) state' by new york based
architect michael sorkin.



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - current image


new york city (steady) state is a book and web publication project that explores whether
new york city can become self-sufficient within its political boundaries. intended as an alternative
master plan for the city’s future, the study investigates the possibility for urban self-reliance
in areas including food, energy, waste, water, air supply and quality, manufacture, employment,
culture, health and transport.  the project also seeks to provide a new standard for design
writing and analysis on sustainability, one which is inseparable from and grounded in a strong
awareness of the particularities of place, both social and environmental.  new york city (steady)
state also provides a new model for other cities to follow.



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - future proposal


sorkin has spent the last several years working on an alternative master plan for new york
city. its research grows from a single predicate: it is possible for the city to become completely
self-sufficient within the five boroughs. the organization is devising a plan in which the city’s
ecological footprint and its political footprint are completely co-terminus. the project includes
investigations of new york city’s most relevant metabolisms, from food and energy to waste
and transportation. the purpose of the study is first to demonstrate that this kind of radical
responsibility-taking is actually possible, second to compile a catalogue of habits and technologies
that would enable this, and finally to investigate the morphological and social consequences for
the city.



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - current image


new york city (steady) state is not only a design manual, but it is a design-driven argument
for a drastic reconfiguration of the way people economize and handle their material resources.
current design guides typically perpetuate models of sustainability that are too discipline-specific,
too superficial and/or too divorced from context. new york city (steady) state is a deep reflection
on the character of sustainability and on current models for development and change. it will provide
both a full catalogue of immediately practical solutions, augmented by a theoretical text that will
look at the economics of self-reliance and import substitution as a driver for this transformation.
sorkin increasingly sees the city as the logical increment for resistance to environmental
and political degradation, for realizing individual expression, as well as a key medium for taking
responsibility for the fate of the global environment. the project is based on the idea that higher levels
of autonomy are crucial both for the achievement of a sustainable future and for the democratic
character of cities.



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - future proposal


new york city (steady) state is thus a means of taking inventory for cities currently relying
on and striving for more limited forms of sustainability, a model for planning, a handbook
of techniques and a speculation about synthesis. sorkin advocates that this systemic,
integrated, large-scale master planning approach is exactly the type of reorientation that
governments, planners, developers, architects, engineers, designers and citizens urgently
need to consider.


'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - current image



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york -  houses becoming sustainable by using solar power, implementing
grey water tanks etc.



'new york city (steady) state', michael sorkin, new york - future proposal