The Post-Sandy Initiative

An Interview with Ouliana Ermolova

What is the project background?

The Post-Sandy Initiative project was born out of the necessity to share expertise and practical knowledge in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The architecture and planning community of New York came together in a collaborative effort and used their experience to make thoughtful recommendations. The project was organized by AIA New York Chapter (AIANY) and the AIANY’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfFRR) in collaboration with a group of like-minded professional organizations; it involved development of the report, creation of the exhibition  (which has been on view at the Center for Architecture since this past May) and a website.

The content was developed from volunteer working groups that were organized by specific areas of investigation: transportation and infrastructure, housing, critical and commercial building, waterfront, zoning and codes.

What were the goals of this project?
The main goal of the printed report, one of the biggest components of the project, was to communicate the architectural community’s proposals directly to policymakers in New York. Many of the report’s proposals focus on short-, mid-, and long-term solutions to provide a blueprint for what the Bloomberg administration could achieve in the next few months, and then what the future mayor of New York City could take on. 

While report is the thorough documentation of the working group's findings and recommendations, the executive summary of the report   created for the AIANY’s Lobby Day was presented to legislators in Albany, New York around 6-month anniversary of the storm. Finally, the exhibition functioned as a summary of the effort and created a content 'backdrop' for the public events and for the symposiums of Future of the City program.

What are the results of this project?

The Post-Sandy Initiative successfully created a report and exhibition that clearly present the expert recommendations. The ultimate measure of the success of the effort will be whether the recommendations are implemented to affect real change or if the report will end up simply being a record of the suggestions of an optimistic initiative.

Any interesting discoveries along the way? New discoveries? Challenges?

The design process started with little content, when the project was in very early stages. The design and content development happened simultaneously, which is not unusual for us; we work on many sustainability reports where the final content frequently does not come to us until one week from the due date. I was well prepared for the challenge.

Were there any issues or challenges that the client did not see that were discovered or determined through the design process?

The original design proposed use of bright orange as the main color for the report. The concept was received well initially, however, later on in the process we changed the color to Pantone 32 Red to visually unify all of the initiatives under the Future of the City program. The initial color scheme will always stay in the project's file.

How much of a role did you have in making the data visually accessible?

I was able to make recommendations for legibility and accessibility, but there was not a lot of time for us to 'play' with the content, due to a hard deadline. The books' divisions, lead-in introductions and pull-quotes were determined early in a collaborative effort with the entire editorial team, of which I was a part. In terms of the pacing of the visual throughout the report and the way that the book is divided up, it was important to make sure there was enough visual interest throughout the book, and I was certainly able to weigh in.

The storm surge map which forms one of the most powerful graphical elements of the report is a composite map I created from a map provided by FEMA and maps that Two Twelve drew for other efforts, such as PlaNYC.

Personally, I was happy to see the effort resulting in a clear and well-designed communication tool. The information is truly accessible. It felt satisfying to know that this piece was in the hands of our representatives in Albany. I think overall there is a lack of good design and beautifully created, and transparent information in the American political sphere.