A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord) 2025
Wood (reclaimed), biochar, steel, water.
Photography by
Em McCann Zauder and
Peter Aaron/OTTO.
Wood (reclaimed), biochar, steel, water.
Photography by
Em McCann Zauder and
Peter Aaron/OTTO.
The Olana Partnership
Olana State Historic Site
A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord) is a pair of interrelated sculptures installed on the former woodshed and ice house foundations in the Olana landscape. Historically, ice from Olana’s lake was cut and stored in blocks, or “cakes” for refrigeration, while wood from the estate’s planted forests was burned for heat. A Measure of Comfort reflects on these bygone methods of harvesting natural resources—wood and ice—for human comfort, while pointing to the challenge of maintaining control over temperature, and the peril to the environment in doing so, as we face climate change. Today we rely on advanced technologies to heat and cool instead of manual harvesting, and yet more than half of the energy used in homes is for heating and cooling. As climate change intensifies extreme weather events, the pursuit of comfort is increasingly urgent, prompting continued evolution in our technologies, but also a reassessment of our relationship with temperature and comfort. A Measure of Comfort explores this evolving relationship between people, nature, and climate systems.
On the site of the former woodshed, the sculpture consists of Southern yellow pine beams—remnants from a previous project—arranged vertically to form an uneven floor, or landscape. The volume of wood equals approximately one cord (128 cubic feet), referencing traditional firewood units that would be collected or purchased. Charred into the surface is the pattern of a decorative heating grill from the Olana house. Creating biochar in the process connects the work to the agricultural uses of the land that the woodshed foundation is a part of, and suggests one of the many ways forward towards a less carbon-intensive future.
Contiguous with the history of managing the woods and planting trees at Olana is a record of ice harvesting on the lake, which used to freeze over regularly. At the ice house site, the sculpture reimagines a typical 19th-century ice “cake” through a series of reflective stainless steel water containers, descending in size. These containers will hold rainwater, naturally filling and evaporating over time. A mirrored stainless steel design, inspired by both the Hudson River watershed and rivulet patterns formed by melting ice, overlays the surface—invoking nature’s cycles and scales.
Together, the components of A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord) are an homage to historical and ongoing extractions of natural resources to satisfy human comfort. They call attention to the environmental ramifications of heating and cooling, and—as we see how our needs impact both the landscape and our shared world—urge us to consider how we might redesign systems and reassess our essential needs.
Olana State Historic Site
A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord) is a pair of interrelated sculptures installed on the former woodshed and ice house foundations in the Olana landscape. Historically, ice from Olana’s lake was cut and stored in blocks, or “cakes” for refrigeration, while wood from the estate’s planted forests was burned for heat. A Measure of Comfort reflects on these bygone methods of harvesting natural resources—wood and ice—for human comfort, while pointing to the challenge of maintaining control over temperature, and the peril to the environment in doing so, as we face climate change. Today we rely on advanced technologies to heat and cool instead of manual harvesting, and yet more than half of the energy used in homes is for heating and cooling. As climate change intensifies extreme weather events, the pursuit of comfort is increasingly urgent, prompting continued evolution in our technologies, but also a reassessment of our relationship with temperature and comfort. A Measure of Comfort explores this evolving relationship between people, nature, and climate systems.
On the site of the former woodshed, the sculpture consists of Southern yellow pine beams—remnants from a previous project—arranged vertically to form an uneven floor, or landscape. The volume of wood equals approximately one cord (128 cubic feet), referencing traditional firewood units that would be collected or purchased. Charred into the surface is the pattern of a decorative heating grill from the Olana house. Creating biochar in the process connects the work to the agricultural uses of the land that the woodshed foundation is a part of, and suggests one of the many ways forward towards a less carbon-intensive future.
Contiguous with the history of managing the woods and planting trees at Olana is a record of ice harvesting on the lake, which used to freeze over regularly. At the ice house site, the sculpture reimagines a typical 19th-century ice “cake” through a series of reflective stainless steel water containers, descending in size. These containers will hold rainwater, naturally filling and evaporating over time. A mirrored stainless steel design, inspired by both the Hudson River watershed and rivulet patterns formed by melting ice, overlays the surface—invoking nature’s cycles and scales.
Together, the components of A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord) are an homage to historical and ongoing extractions of natural resources to satisfy human comfort. They call attention to the environmental ramifications of heating and cooling, and—as we see how our needs impact both the landscape and our shared world—urge us to consider how we might redesign systems and reassess our essential needs.