Client: Paul J. Elston the Friends of the Hudson River Greenway in the Bronx

Location: Riverdale, NY, United States

Completion date: 2014

Artwork budget: $50,000

Project Team

Architect

Nina Edwards Anker

NEA studio

Artist

Janike Kampevold Larsen

Artist

Ninni Rautiainien

Overview

Latitude Light is a proposal for a light installation in a grassy clearing in the Bronx. In this resting area, a range of temperatures creates the program, where seating spots follow a Clock-based Calendar of months and hours, whose snake shape creates micro-climates. The installation thus becomes an instrument for mediating local climate in such a way that it provides cooling on the end closer to the river and its breezes, with pyramids which are more widely spaced apart, and heating on the southern end through a wall of tilted pyramids in front of a sheltering hill.

Goals

The commission artwork was essential to the project, as it was the element that was to attract residents of Riverdale to the waterfront, which has been forgotten as an area of inhabitation. The artwork will help reclaim the waterfront as an area of recreation and relaxation.

Process

The collaboration process was complex, as it has been a 15 year process on Paul Elston's part to attempt to revive Riverdale's waterfront, starting with a bike track that is to run from Manhattan to the Bronx. This involves a web of political parties, amongst which the railroad companies who own the land are an important part. The artist and designer dealt directly with Paul Elston to make presentations to the local community, including one at the annual Riverdale Riverfest.

Additional Information

The night view of the installation is seen from the bike path along the train tracks, where the pyramids glow brighter as the wind picks up. Materials are amorphous thin film solar panels facing south, and recycled rusted steel. The project in intended for fabrication and installation by local metal fabrication workshop Milgo-Bufkin,