Watch Day at Manitoga, Russel Wright’s house and studio in New York’s Hudson Valley, occurred on September 26, 2012. Students from
Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design, a preservation-focused public high school in Brooklyn with whom WMF has collaborated since 2009, participated in a field program at the site to learn about Wright’s legacy. Students assisted in restoring an “outdoor room,” known as the Beach, which exemplifies his integration of building and landscape design. They learned how the surrounding landscape can affect building conditions and how to manage environmental factors to prevent damage to historic building materials. Activities included removing invasive plants, relining the patio area with filtering textiles, replacing the surface layer of gravel, and salvaging rock to refurbish the retaining walls and floor.
A view of Manitoga’s studio and pergola, as seen from the quarry path.
Students from Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design gather outside Manitoga’s stone and glass façade in preparation for the Watch Day field school.
Students learn about Russel Wright and his design philosophies, which embraced American traditions of practicality and simplicity.
Students organized the equipment and supplies needed for the day’s work, which included salvaging rock from the delta area to refurbish the retaining walls and floor of the Beach.
The woodland garden surrounding Manitoga serves as another “outdoor” room, which the students cleared of invasive plants and debris.
Frank Sanchis, WMF’s Program Director for the United States, leads the group as they reline the Beach with filtering textiles and replace the surface layer of gravel.
View of Wright’s modernist home and studio from the woodland garden.
Watch Day 2012 concludes with students leaving the site by the Stepping Stone Bridge.
