The Lung is a factory, museum, and purifier of air. Facing various underlying urban disasters, The Lung prepares the city for potential air catastrophes while healing the damage. Spatializing natural and technological processes, the museum demonstrates the cleaning and making of ‘air.’ The visitor is invited to obtain sensitivity to the so-called ‘void’ or ‘invisible’ through air. The island prioritizes the invisible as the most crucial and blends the infrastructure abstraction to everyday experience. The mechanism of producing oxygen is conceptualized in three parts; inhaling, absorbing, and exhaling. The air is first compressed and purified during inhaling; liquefied to distill oxygen out during absorption. Lastly, the liquid oxygen goes into the reservoir to be vaporized for later use during exhaling. The structure consists of semi-submersible pontoons, which are commonly used in the offshore oil industry, enhancing the impression and relation between intangible air and the solid structure. The truss density at the outer ring is organized in response to the annual wind rose diagram of New York City. The mechanisms of oxygen production are demonstrated across scales through spatial experiences at The Lung, as the visitors participate and encounter the process of making breathable air.
