During the Covid-19 pandemic, Constantin and Laurene Boym left New York City for their 1955 cabin on eight acres in Esopus, New York. Along with the rest of the world, what began as a temporary retreat stretched into eighteen months, during which the property gradually became an ongoing design project that the duo named Boym Park.

Working largely with what was already available around the property, including a large dumping pile the neighboring properties had used for decades, the Boyms approached the landscape through a series of small interventions rather than a predetermined master plan. This ethos reflected their design practice at large, but now with the natural landscape. Projects emerged from immediate needs, found materials, and prolonged observation of the land - isolation turned into an experiment in slower and self reliant design. 

BUILDING THE PARK:

Across the property, Constantin Boym implemented many creations including a tomato garden, pavilion, and a small “village” of collected birdhouses representing different architectural styles. Found wood became a faux deer trophy for a series he called Upstate Safari, while discarded metal and other objects discovered on the property were transformed into sculptures. Laurene Boym received a new studio extending from an existing woodshed and the cabin itself gained a second bedroom and mudroom. (north bench) 

ENDOGENOUS DESIGN:

Constantin later used Boym Park as a case study for what he called “endogenous design”, or design generated from the resources and conditions of a particular place. The restrictions of the pandemic limited access to conventional materials and shifted the design process toward local resources. Whether or not the Boyms realized it, the project’s methodology mirrored much of their earlier series - instead of asking what could be brought to the site, Boym Park asked what could be made from what was already there.

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