In an initial site investigation done collaboratively, we identified the Miller Field WWII Observation Tower and Fort Wadsworth as ruined not only due to their deteriorated appearance but also by nature of their almost immediate obsolescence.
Constructed just before WWII as part of a broader network of coastal defense, the Miller Field Observation Tower or Fire Control Tower (FCT) was purpose-built to watch for enemy ships and coordinate with Fort Wadsworth gunmen to fire back. It became clear however that planes were much more effective at sighting and targeting enemies at long range, and the war never really reached American shores to begin with. The tower therefore would sit as an obsolete concrete monolith for decades to come, difficult to get rid of and difficult to make use of.
Our project proposes incorporating the tower into a new spiritual network of faith where the concrete shell can support a single truck driver’s ability to stop, rest and meditate as they fulfil the arduous and thankless task of delivering goods across the boroughs and the US. Instead of seeing the outside world as a threat, the tower becomes an introspective space for truckers to practice faith within a secular routine.
