1999 Rotch Scholar - Robert Linn

A Land-Water Satellite in Boston Harbor

The New England Aquarium on Long Island

Addressing the Liminal Conditions

The problem of building on functional and contextual boundary conditions is resolved in this project by way of two arms, or axes, that span land and water.

This technical and educational facility, approached by sea and land, is about exploration as well as protection. It is a satellite, on an island, and therefore vitally tied to the main site. These conditions depict a liminal state — a perceptual and physical threshold, a portal for the processes of rehabilitation and education.

The project fits this intermediate space using primarily standard prefabricated metal construction that is put together in a language evocative of aquatic structures, such as ships and water tanks. It hovers over the ground on constructed space, built on piers. A seawall protects, increases the tidal area, and makes explicit the liminal nature of the site.

The approach by land is met with a view through the camp building to the horizon. A child may be dropped off here for camp, or staff and visitors may drive around or park by the rehabilitation center. Trucks carrying supplies for animals drive directly into the rehabilitation facility. Animals may be transferred by way of an overhead crane rail from the dry hold to the small pool to the large pool at one of three points, depending on species.

A second-level catwalk, integral with the overhead crane rail, allows access to pools for visitors, campers, and controlled feeding. Open pools and mechanical/water storage functions are located further down this arm, which ends at a beacon tower and dock for animal rescue vessels.

Campers move from the camp building to their swimming pool or go further to a small theater with a sail-like video screen for presentations or shared activities with NEAq. They may move laterally for exploration in the tidal pools developed from the seawall and to the beach, or to the hillside meadows for open play. They may follow the arm out to the camp viewing tower to investigate the harbor and islands. The pier end accommodates boat landing for seaside transportation from the aquarium.

The "sequences" for the animal rehabilitation and for the campers are initiated with equal ease from land or from water, as need or desire directs.

The space between axes represents joined function — just as beach and tidal waters represents joining of sea and land.