Chi-Hao Chiang · CLIENT: Chi-Hao Chiang
Karst, a modular staircase designed for Governors Island in New York, is like a solutional cave for people to see and hear the flowing water, with a water filtering system that brings the sensation of nature into the house, connecting the community of humans and water. Each module has a pocket for placing a bag of crushed oyster shells. The shells composed of calcium carbonate can react with acid rain to help neutralize acidified ocean by absorbing carbon dioxide. In the end, it is a filter system that can blur the boundary between humans and nature on Governors Island.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Karst, a modular staircase designed for Governors Island in New York, is like a solutional cave for people to see and hear the flowing water, with a water-filtering system that brings the sensation of nature into the house, connecting the community of humans and water. Each module has a pocket for placing a bag of crushed oyster shells, and the shells composed of calcium carbonate can react with acid rain to reduce ocean acidification by absorbing carbon dioxide.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 2032 mm x 5740.4 mm x 5130.8 mm
- Tags
- Staircase, Concrete, Water Filtration, Governors Island, Sustainable
- Production Technology
- It will be made out of concrete, and the bags with crushed oyster shells inside as the filtering material.
- Design Challenge
- Finding a way to combine two very different forms to be consistent and functional is the design challenge.
- Project Duration
- The project started in February 2020 in New York and finished in May 2020 in New York, and was exhibited on Governors Island in New York in October 2020.
- Operation Flow
- First, the rainwater drips from the pockets with bags of crushed oyster shells. After the filtration, it trickles down on the cliff and flows through the troughs. Potentially, this staircase can be not only applied indoors but also separated into modular sliced units then installed along the island. It is a filter system that can blur the boundary between humans and nature on Governors Island. In the end, the filtered water can return to the harbor and benefit the island.
- Research
- Question the relationship between industrial standardized building material and organic material in the present time when concrete jungles are sprawling on the land. Our goal is to allow nature to appear and break the traditional boundary that we humans created, separating ourselves from nature. After the explorations of physical material combinations, we took styrofoam and pine cone models to deconstruct and reconstruct. After simplifying, two different forms combined in a consistent way.
- Inspiration
- The goal is to allow nature to appear and break the traditional boundary that we humans created, separating ourselves from nature. After many physical explorations, the proposal was narrowed down to create an interactive community for humans and water. Also, the reason for naming the staircase Karst is from the Karst terrain, which is famous for solutional caves, with its cave form and the process that acid rain can act with the crushed oyster shell.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Industrial Designer Chi-Hao Chiang, Front View of Karst, 2020.
Image #2: Industrial Designer Chi-Hao Chiang, Side View of Karst, 2020.
Image #3: Industrial Designer Chi-Hao Chiang, Filtration Bags of Karst, 2020.
Image #4: Industrial Designer Chi-Hao Chiang, Handrail of Karst, 2020.
Image #5: Industrial Designer Chi-Hao Chiang, Steps of Karst, 2020.
Video Credits: Architect Zhixian Song, Application of Karst, 2020.
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