Yicheng / Alan Wang

010: TIME TO PAST

Research Process

Title: Time to Past
Project Type: Cemetery
Site: Catskill, New York
Instructor: Ayesha Ghosh
Year: 2022

Project Premise:

The brief of this project was relatively open-ended. We were provided with a general site located in Catskill, NY, and tasked with developing a proposal that meaningfully engages with the landscape. The decision to design a cemetery emerged from a personal observation rooted in my daily routine during the spring semester of 2022.

During that semester, spring of 2022, my daily walk from the dormitory to the School of Architecture often took me through a large cemetery that lies between the two. On pleasant days, I would choose to cut through the cemetery. Over time, I began to notice a stark contrast between the tombstones: the newer graves were monumental, carefully maintained, and frequently adorned with fresh flowers, while many of the older ones—dating back to the 19th century—had visibly deteriorated, with cracked surfaces and overgrown vegetation. This visual disparity suggested not only the passage of time, but also a fading of memory, as if these individuals had gradually been forgotten.

This observation became the foundation of my design inquiry. I began to question how can a tombstone resist the erasure of memory? How can a cemetery be designed not only to honor the dead, but to actively preserve and carry their presence forward? In response, I proposed a cemetery that reimagines memorialization, one that embeds remembrance into the landscape.

Site Selection:

To identify a suitable site within Catskill, NY, I began by analyzing satellite images to understand the broader landscape. I was drawn to an open field nestled within a dense ring of trees, secluded from major roads. This quiet, introspective setting offered a sense of spatial detachment—an ideal atmosphere for reflection and remembrance. Its natural seclusion made it an appropriate site for a contemporary cemetery embedded within the landscape.

TO DESIGN

EST New York

010: TIME TO PAST

Email: alanwangwyc@gmail.com