BOARDWALK

2022 Bethel Woods Art + Architecture Festival

Team: Dillon Pranger, Christopher Battaglia, Marlee Barnes, Maxwell Rodencal, Keygan Sinclair

BoardWalk is an installation that applies circular design strategies in order to extend the lifecycle of existing building materials through program, design, and assembly techniques.

Originally tasked by the client with developing a series of strategies aimed at maximizing the lifecycle of materials found on the existing site, the project began with reclaiming over 300 old-growth hemlock beams and over 3000 sq. ft. of oak flooring from a project site that was soon to be slated for demolition.

Once disassembled, the edge of each joist still retains nails and metal hardware from its previous life presenting a challenge when considering how to further process the material for reuse. While methods of de-nailing currently exist, they are often time-consuming and involve methods that only further damage the material. Instead, BoardWalk looks to leverage the found condition of the material as a design opportunity by leaving the edge condition untouched and only utilizing the undisturbed center of the material for further processing.

In conjunction with the found condition, a series of 8 connections that use no additional nails, screws, or glues are developed to allow for maximum flexibility in assembly and material configuration. The final installation reuses the materials in a similar application as horizontal surface, but, instead, reorganized to accommodate new programmatic activities.

Situated atop a rolling hill that overlooks the festival grounds below, BoardWalk offers an elevated platform for expansive views across the site while simultaneously providing moments of social interaction between the festival visitors through its hard and soft, solid and void surface conditions.