Hydroasis

School of Visual Arts | New York NY

Project idea

Like a lost traveler in the desert who longs for an Oasis, Hydroasis is an idyllic utopia located in the heart of Chelsea, New York, that supports the users through metaphysical and emotional dimensions in a journey of water.

Hydroasis aims to celebrate natural energy. Water is the origin of life. The Hydroasis runs like a city thriving on the resourcefulness of water. Hydroasis makes water become the extent of life by including a comprehensive strategy for improving the uses of available water while serving an educational purpose on water cycling.

“The only works of art America has given are her plumbing and her bridges.” By analyzing this quote from Marcel Duchamp and moving beyond the mono-functional approach for distributing and controlling the water, Hydroasis becomes a water infrastructure that creates its natural ecosystem by integrating water cycling paths, educational and cultural activities, and ecological systems within the space.

Project description

Location:
Hydroasis is on 200 W 18th St, Chelsea, New York. Chelsea is located along the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan, with Lower Manhattan to the South and Hell’s Kitchen to the North. The Fashion Institute of Technology, the Rubin Museum of Art, the Manhattan Mall, and Penn Station located in Chelsea. It stretches north from 14th Street to 34th Street and from River East to 6th Avenue. Chelsea is a very inclusive community, with many people from different cultures living here, contributing to the cultural diversity of the place, and Chelsea is known for its large LGBTQ population.The West Chelsea area between 10th and 11th Avenues and 16th and 28th Streets has become the new global center for contemporary art. The subway 1 train station is on 18th street, bike paths and bus lines are near Hydroasis. Public transportation allows the users to spend the least amount of time on daily transportation.

The project contains three major areas: the basement, the lobby, and the residential levels. Both the children's playground on the basement level and the lobby are open to everyone. These two public spaces provide opportunities for people to make connections, build relationships. The upper residential levels are private and only for the residence.

The Hydroasis is like a blueprint with pieces exposed in the space that offers a perceivable connection of either similarity or contrast. Inspired by the fictionalized cities in Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, Hydorasis celebrates the pattern of repetition and testifies that memory has a way around repetitive patterns. The users from Hydroasis follow repetitive routes in the space, but at the same time, the structure of the space is retained differently. Every spectator recalls their own memories by looking at various details of the space.

Design Highlights:
- Designing a simple and uncluttered internal space and elevation, the Hydorasis provides users with a more spacious space by maximizing the use of the site. By positioning the residential units on both sides of the street, each unit has the opportunity to access its private balcony with the same amount of the cityscape view

- Job opportunities are provided in Hydroasis, for example the coffee shop run by the residences provide job positions for those who are interested in working at a coffee shop without leaving the building. Rooftop garden also offers people opportunities to collect and water the vegetation and small plants.

- Zig-zag landing: small moments offer the quality of living

Technical information

Hydroasis is a prime example of how building with water energy can enhance the quality of life and optimize the community.

Setting a water screen system on the building’s facade mitigates noise pollution and serves as a visual aesthetic.

Water Energy & Green Thinking: Using water energy as an eco-technology, Hydroasis turns a space into a dual-aspect place where you can live, learn, practice, and grow your food to support the environment.

Pipe Function Analysis
The pipe system is also included in each unit, and the task of this system is to spread water over the whole building. Liquids are applied by small channels in the pipe system. The pipe analysis chart and diagram help people easily understand how the system functions. Through simple illustration, everything is explained in a playful way.