Dry Mole
Marking the line of high tide.
| Design | 1996 (competition) |
Greenport, Long Island.
This proposal traces the line of detritus which marks high tide. Small buildings resting on wooden piers make-up the existing harbor structure. Our idea changes the relationship between building and sea:
- Rotate the orientation of the piers 90 degrees to run parallel to the water’s edge.
- Set the building line and boardwalk back from the water’s edge.
These two operations form and protect a wetland threshold between land and sea.
Twilight transforms the punched-metal enclosure into a translucent box, revealing shadows of the wooden horses spinning inside. Thus the carousel enclosure becomes a lighthouse at the mole’s end.