Newburgh Porch

Newburgh Porch was a temporary architectural installation that reinvented the porch as a movable, temporary space for community-led programming focused on the existing architecture and cultural assets of Newburgh, New York - a city undergoing rapid revitalization and experiencing pressures of displacement. Newburgh is a city of porches with hundreds in varying sizes and styles ranging from Queen Anne to Greek Revival - many based on early American porch designs that were imported to Newburgh through pattern books. While the city templated porch designs it has also borne witness to changes in what it means to be “on the porch.”

It seemed natural, therefore, to have a conversation about the future of Newburgh on the porch. Newburgh Porch was designed with a nod to the ease of construction offered by the pattern books. It is assembled from standard off-the-shelf wood products and connectors and borrowed typical structural and decorative elements lent by a local salvage store. It was constructed on a mobile trailer to comply with unexpected building regulations faced along the way. Ultimately, the mobility of the project, the standardization of design, and the low cost make this a new template for allowing porch access to all.

A key design element to this otherwise simple project is the thin visual representation of the porch’s edges. The roof and back wall were conceived as a single plane that is bent to form the peak. A ‘knife edge’ detail is used at the opening in the center and at the two ends to reinforce this appearance of thinness. The Newburgh Porch frames the site through its imposition on both the ‘positive’ inhabitable spaces along the perimeter and the ‘negative’ space of the background on its edges.

The Fullerton organized over 20 events to respond to the realities of rebuilding and facilitate conversations on restoring, celebrating and understanding the city’s cultural assets. These community discussions have evolved into an annual festival fostering a platform for Newburgh’s cultural, economic, and architectural growth that is grounded in the principles of architectural preservation, community organizing, and access to resources.