This project honors invisible networks of support, past and present. The New Guinea free Black community that existed on this site just north of Poughkeepsie, NY, is memorialized through a transitional housing community and health center for queer, homeless youth of color that serves as an extension of the River Haven Youth Shelter. Formally, the project explores shifting forms of vision through a language of canopies as transition and roofing that shift and extend to create moments of indoor-outdoor use.
The dichotomous relationship between the two components of the project acts as a form of potential visibility for youth, while fostering trust and giving them the privacy, care, and sanctuary that they deserve. Notions of the balance between vision and safety are key components of this memorial and sanctuary.
