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