Tag: essay

Demolishing Public Space at New York Penn Station

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The untimely and short-sighted demolition of old Penn Station in 1963 symbolizes the eroding quality of public space in New York City. In the conflict between developers and community voices in New York, the narrow considerations of economic profit triumphed over the broader community’s demands for historical preservation and high-quality public space. In this essay written for historian Evander Price’s summer 2020 class I took at Harvard University, I reflect on what the loss of this landmark reflects about the destructive nature of American capitalism. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Architecture of Redemption?

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My master’s of architecture thesis at the University of Cambridge. This research explores the contradictions of solitary confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. This prison experimented with prolonged solitary confinement in the 1830s to inspire the redemption of inmates. By analyzing Jeremy Bentham’s plans for the ideal panopticon prison, architect John Haviland’s designs for this specific prison, and visitor accounts of prison’s daily operations, my thesis examines the builders’ philosophical assumptions about utopia, architecture, and human nature. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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New York: subway city of immigrants

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As northbound Broadway dips down to the valley of 125th Street, the subway soars over the street. The subway viaduct is a jumble of steel slicing through the orthogonal city grid. The 125th Street viaduct is a massive arch, 250 feet from end to end, two hundred tons of mass channeled into four concrete pylons, resting on the solid bedrock of Manhattan schist. The subway is the intersection, where the underground and aboveground worlds of New York City converge. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Manufacturing the Picturesque at Central Park

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Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the 1850s, represents the tension between natural and manmade landscapes. Intended to offer an escape from urban life, its construction required extensive engineering and planning while masking the degree to which its landscape was artificial. The park’s design reflects real estate interests, infrastructure needs, and the divisions of social class in 19th-century New York. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Architecture of Exclusion in Manhattan Chinatown

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This essay discusses the historical and contemporary challenges faced by the Chinese community in Manhattan’s Chinatown, highlighting the impact of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and ongoing discrimination against immigrants and working-class communities. Despite systemic barriers, the community shows resilience and maintains cultural identity amidst gentrification and urban development. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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The Origins of Gothic at the Church of Saint-Denis

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This undergraduate thesis, mentored by architectural historian Stephen Murray, explores the origins of Gothic architecture in the 12th-century church of Saint-Denis near Paris. The claim that Saint-Denis was one of the first Gothic churches reveals a tendency to tell history – particularly architectural history – in terms of individual structures. In fact, the origins of the Gothic style are more complex and nuanced. Abandoning a Paris- and Saint-Denis-centric origins story reveals the range of local sources from which medieval masons drew inspiration to create the Gothic style. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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The Meaning of Notre-Dame

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The construction of Notre-Dame reflects the origins story of medieval France and the consolidation of power under the Capetian monarchy. This cathedral became a symbol of political power, devotion, and national identity, enduring through 800 years of crises and transformations. Through fires, reconstructions, revolutions, and renovations, Notre-Dame has grown and evolved as symbol of faith and nation. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Geography of Marijuana Arrests

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Before the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2021, the NYPD reported over 102,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2017, disproportionately affecting Black males from low-income areas, despite similar usage rates among other demographics. This system wastes taxpayer dollars and perpetuates a cycle of criminalization for those impacted by arrests. In this series of data visualizations and maps, I walk readers through the geography of marijuana incarceration. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Where in the world is modernism?

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What if the nationality of every artist represented in the Museum of Modern Art’s collections were mapped to illustrate the museum’s evolving geographic diversity from the 1920s to today? Watch this data visualization that shows the provenance and geographical origins of 121,823 works of art selected from MoMA’s collections. Explore supporting data visualizations and interactive dashboards. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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A History of Historic Preservation in New York City

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Developed with historian Kenneth Jackson.

Data analysis of NYC landmarks since 1965 reveals trends and biases in the landmarks preservation movement. By 2018 estimates, New York City has granted historic
landmark status to 128,594 structures across Five Boroughs. This visualization and the accompanying analysis assess the geographical spread, location, and age of landmarks with publicly-available metadata. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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A Brief History of Mulberry Bend

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Mulberry Bend, nestled between the New York County Criminal Court and the tenements of Chinatown, is at the geographic crossroads of urban history. At 500 feet long and 50 feet wide, Mulberry Bend is named after the slight turn the street makes midblock. The Bend has a rich, 350 year history: marsh, city slum, site of urban renewal, and now heart of the Western Hemisphere’s largest Chinese enclave VIEW PUBLICATION >

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The Geography of Art History

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According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Related: Data analysis and visualization of 120,000 works in the Museum of Modern Art In this film, each colored dot indicates one location represented by art in the Met’s online database. Dot location indicates artwork provenance. Dot size indicates the number of objects from this place. The time each dot appears corresponds to the year this work was created. This data is assumed to be an accurate sample size. Over the past few years, the Metropolitan Museum has catalogued over 25% of its holdings online. This represents ~590,000 objects, covering over 5,000 years… VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Amiens Cathedral Construction Sequences

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Amiens Cathedral is a key subject in the Art Humanities Core Curriculum class that is required of all undergraduates at Columbia University. This research project is now used in the classroom instruction of 1,400 Columbia undergrads each year. This project created with Stephen Murray uses computer models and films to visualize the centuries-long time-lapse construction sequence of Amiens Cathedral. This research highlights the cathedral’s role in medieval society: as symbol of civic identity, as economic engine, and as nation-building tool for the future French state.

As published by Columbia University Core Curriculum program. Visit: projects.mcah.columbia.edu/amiens-arthum VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Newark Metamorphosis

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This exhibit created for the Newark Public Library uses postcard comparisons of past vs. present to showcase Newark’s architectural evolution from 1916 to today. The project highlights the loss of cultural heritage due to urban renewal and demographic change. The resulting interactive map presents 150 comparative views, which illustrate the progressive loss of human-scale small structures that were central to the city’s vanished neighborhood identity. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Mount Pleasant Cemetery

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Mount Pleasant was the resting place of Newark’s leading industrialists, politicians, and first families. Opened in 1844 and landmarked in 1988, it fell into neglect as Newark’s wealth flowed away to foreign factories and Newark’s people fled to suburbia. Memories and histories carved in the text of century-old tombstones erode away as slowly as murky waters flow past in the nearby Passaic River. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Urban Garden in Newark

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By Myles and Maia Zhang
Our family’s reflection and photo essay on the annual tradition we have of planting flowers in a vacant lot.

“In time, we will wind our way and rediscover the role of architecture and man-made forms in creating a new civilized landscape. It is essentially a question of rediscovering symbols and believing in them once again. […] Out of a ruin a new symbol emerges, and a landscape finds form and comes alive.”

– John Brinckerhoff Jackson VIEW PUBLICATION >

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The Panopticon and Trouble in Utopia

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Despite the seeming differences between them, many utopias and dystopias often resemble the panopticon, a model of the ideal surveillance state. In fact, panopticon, dystopic police state, and utopian society share common goals: total observation, total power, and unquestioned control. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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Public Speech: parking vs. preservation

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As featured by NJ.com in spring 2019 Update: Following a case filed by New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center on behalf of PLANewark, Edison Parking admitted that they demolished this building without seeking proper permission from city and state agencies. Edison was in negotations out of court with PLANewark about ways to mitigate the damage they caused. On a warm Sunday in August 2014, bulldozers started tearing away at a historic, turn-of-the-century loft space. Although the first floor was sealed with cinder blocks, the upper floor was adorned with large Chicago-style windows, intricate white terracotta carvings, and Greco-Roman ornament…. VIEW PUBLICATION >

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The Legacy of Vitruvius

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Essay selected from successful 2014 application to the Telluride Association Summer Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In this essay, I reflect on the Roman architect Vitruvius and ask: Rome left a footprint on the built environment. What will our society leave? VIEW PUBLICATION >