Alessandra Rao IDC4001H Island at the Center of the World I’ll start with the most unsurprising things I learned. Throughout Chapter 5, it was mentioned several times that Manhattan was used as an important port for the West India Company. Given the fact that Manhattan is an island, it is only natural that its geographic […]
In a city so consumed by development and innovation, the idea of sustainability is a novel but necessary concept. It is easy to choose profit over enduring designs that are beneficial to the environment but it is essential that this mindset is altered. In regards to the presentation/discussion by Ms. Haydock, she focused on landscape […]
New York City is full of rich history. The development of this magnificent city is taught in all of our history classes. But sometimes, teachers leave out minute details or figures that played a role in shaping this one of a kind city. In “Island at the Center of the World,” Russell Shorto offers readers […]
Derick Liu 3/4/14 I wasn’t able to make it to the exhibit with the class because of a cold, but I did manage to see it on my own. I was pretty excited because I’ve always had an interest in city planning and am an avid supporter of the green movement. Honestly, I was very […]
Selina Lee IDC 4001H Professor Maciuika March 3, 2014 Shorto writes that New Netherland insisted on becoming a place, not just another one of the Dutch Empire’s trading posts. It was so exotic and unique that none of employees that headed New Netherland truly understood it. It’s interesting to read about New York City before […]
Natan Wise March 3rd, 2014 The standout figure of the selected chapters of Shorto’s Island at the Center of the World is undoubtedly Adriaen van der Donck. As a young lawyer on the fast track to success in the Dutch Republic, van der Donck decided to accept a high post and come over to be a member of […]
I liked Constance Haydock’s lecture about landscape architecture really showed us her passion and love for landscaping and sustainable alternatives that she has used throughout her work, in the public and private sector. It really correlated with The Center of Architecture’s “New York Restoration Project and the ‘Edge-ucation’ Pavilion”. In the competition, groups were all […]
Pessia Goldberg 03/03/14 While I found the Ms. Haydock’s speech to be quite fascinating, unfortunately I cannot say the same of the EDGEucation Pavilion exhibit. Ms. Haydock gave several interesting insights into how urban landscaping can be used to make the City safer, cleaner, and more beautiful. I especially enjoyed hearing about the different plants […]
Natan Wise March 3rd, 2014 It may just be my tendency to overanalyze and cross-relate, but I felt that Constace Haydock’s lecture and the subsequent trip to the Museum of Architecture perfectly captured the creative, let’s-convert-this-space-into-something-more-practical character trait latent in New Yorkers. Firstly, the lecture itself was wonderful. Ms. Haydock showed a bunch of incredibly […]
Rossella Failla- Russell Shorto’s “The Island at the Center of the World,” offers a new prespective on the story of the Dutch colonization of Manhattan. The first settlers on the island were the Dutch, pioneered by Henry Hudson and the Dutch East India Company. What I found interesting were the motivations of the Manhattan settlers. […]
