Dan's Papers - October 19, 2007 - Duck Project Symposium at SUNY Southampton

The Duck Project, organized and directed by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), has no relevance to the iconic Big Duck that is charmingly conspicuous on Route 24 in Flanders. Instead, the AIA has named this endeavor after the hunting cabin in Flanders known as the Black Duck Lodge, originally built and owned by E.F. Hutton.

This project is a study related to environmental conservation and architectural preservation. In essence, it is a collection of ideas and new methodologies, which demonstrate implements available for constructing environmentally harmless structures (housing, commercial buildings and roadways). The aim of the project is to diminish the ecological erosion and contamination of our lands.

This past Friday and Saturday, the AIA convened a symposium on the grounds of Stony Brook Southampton's campus, with an objective to gain public awareness of the ever-present danger of environmental threats -including the potential risk of polluting the two major aquifers that lie beneath the soil of the East End. The second goal of the symposium was to put forth alternate methods, sources and materials that will reduce such contamination. In laymen's terms, an aquifer is a pool located deep below the ground, which collects rainwater. A tract of land that is environmentally pristine and natural acts as a filtering system. It purifies any type of water that seeps through the ground, including waste and sewage. The various layers of rocks and sand are the elements that regulate this natural purification, a function that allows the filtered water to flow into the aquifers and ultimately disperse to natural underground wells for safe consumption.

The Pine Barrens comprise of 5,000 acres of undeveloped natural land. The reason development hasn't been permitted on this acreage is so that it can function as a filtering agent for the aquifers. Developed land and roadways diminish the effectiveness of this sifting process. Combined with waste and sewage generated by housing, these factors increase the risk of polluting the underground water wells.

The symposium's keynote speaker, Mr. Bill Reed, a world-renowned member of the United States Green Building Council, exhibited examples of innovative systems and methods to create ecologically safe land development. He fielded questions from the absorbed and intrigued spectators for nearly two hours.

The Hubbard County Park in Flanders is located adjacent to the Pine Barrens Region. The park contributes to the vitality of the Peconic Estuary System and consequently to the aquifers. The project director, Ms. Eva Growney, an environmental architect based in East Hampton, requested for Mr. Bob Deluca, one of the expert panelists to explain.

"If we don't take the necessary steps to preserve and insure the sustainability of this park, its natural ponds will eventually flow into the Peconic Bay and pollute those waters, to the detriment of marine life. Therefore, it is important that if any development occurs, it must take into consideration the environmental conservation of the land. We're proposing to refurbish the various historical sites - the old schoolhouse, a variety of farm structures, including the original warehouses designed to raise ducks. These buildings would then be opened to the general public and used as a sort of showcase to demonstrate the alternate ways and means now available for building environmentally responsible homes and other types of edifices."

Mr. Martin Schoonen, Interim Dean of Stony Brook Southampton and panelist of the symposium, added, "The University is supporting this project enthusiastically and has proposed a curriculum that will be parallel with the Duck Project study regarding environmentally mindful architecture and land development. This project makes a perfect model for the new curriculum." He then offered a sobering conclusion. "Let's face it, from the ecological aspect, we've abused our land and communities. We've been building and building. Even putting up these unnecessary huge mansions that consume a great deal of energy and generate a lot of waste. The architects will have to think more conscientiously and educate their clients before designing a home, and hopefully giving priority to conservation."

The Hubbard County Park once hosted a lively community, a hamlet that thrived on maritime commerce. One of the proposals put forth by the Duck Project is a plan to preserve the remaining buildings, including E.F. Hutton's Black Duck Lodge. Mr. Zachary N. Studenroth, Executive Director of the Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum, said "There is a unique historical value attached to these ancient structures and my commitment in this study is to document and save the architectural resources that give our East End communities their special character."

The symposium has also attracted the interest of several state and local politicians, including Jay Schneiderman, Steve Englebright, Fred Thiele, and Southampton Town Supervisor, Skip Heaney. Mr. Thiele and Mr. Heaney, in a magnanimous act, presented the project director Ms. Growney with grants. In addition, a myriad of notable architects and environmentalists eagerly attended. At the closing of the event, the members of the audience expressed gratitude for the panel's enlightenment of the ecological state of affairs and applauded the symposium's environmental recommendations. "Such an important undertaking needs for all of us to participate, now," someone said at the end.