Triple Island
Sculpture | 2013 | Pier 42, New York, NY
Triple Island was a sculptural habitat and public artwork located on Pier 42 in Lower Manhattan. Built entirely from reclaimed and salvaged materials, the project asked: What would it mean to build only with what’s been left behind? The resulting structure embodied a regenerative approach to future living in a city facing accelerating environmental pressures.
Created in partnership with Hester Street Collaborative, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and a coalition of community-based organizations, Triple Island emphasized collective resilience over individual self-sufficiency. The site served as a temporary living system that provided access to shared food, water, shelter, and renewable energy, offering a model for communal resourcefulness in the face of rising seas and climate uncertainty.
Triple Island was part of the broader initiative Paths to Pier 42, which aimed to activate underutilized waterfront space through public art and environmental engagement. Through workshops, educational programs, and hands-on participation, visitors were invited to imagine the city not only as a site of vulnerability, but of adaptive possibility.
Project Details
Year: 2013
Location: Pier 42, New York, NY
Commissioned by: Paths to Pier 42, Hester Street Collaborative, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Materials: Reclaimed wood and hardware, salvaged industrial containers, solar power components, rainwater catchment
Dimensions: Approx. 20 ft x 30 ft (variable)
Partner Organizations
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
Good Old Lower East Side
Hester Street Collaborative
Lower East Side Ecology Center
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Two Bridges Neighborhood Council
Funders and Supporters
Triple Island was made possible by The Surdna Foundation, New York Community Trust, Build it Green NYC, New York Restoration Project, Solar One, and the New York–New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program through the Environmental Protection Agency and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
"As someone who grew up without anything extra and needing to reuse everything, I wanted to explore how we might build structures using only what has been discarded, envisioning a future where communities rely on shared resources and collective resilience. Triple Island became a space where art and sustainability intersected, prompting conversations about our relationship with the environment and each other." —Mattingly
Documentation
