Architects
John Cetra and Nancy Ruddy
"Ice Shard"
On Henry Hudson’s third exploratory voyage to discover a northern route from Europe to Asia, he journeyed across the Atlantic toward the American continent traveling southwest, going as far south as Virginia before heading north again and traveling up the river that would bear his name. The year was 1609; the same year Galileo invented the telescope that would confirm that man and the earth were not at the center of the universe.
For economic and political reasons, the English and the Dutch wanted to find a route to Asia that minimized contact with the Spanish and Portuguese, who controlled the trade routes around the African continent.
What men thought of their planet in those years is almost incomprehensible to us. The tools they had at their disposal gave them little insight of the world beyond what they could see with the naked eye. Their awareness of the difficulties in traveling north seemed to have been minimal. There was an awareness of the weather — the ice and storms that had consumed other explorers — but the drive to explore this unknown area for knowledge, glory and commerce kept them going.
Was Hudson’s time the beginning of the modern era?
I am not a historian, but I see in Hudson a drive that could be considered modern. The desire to discover new worlds, new people — or in our own time, the attempts to see farther into space — to find out if there are other civilizations in the universe is directly related in time to Henry Hudson and Galileo.
Hudson explored the physical world and changed the places he explored forever. Some areas were impacted much more than others. Development along the Hudson River looks very different today than what it looked like in Hudson’s time. Hudson’s discovery of the Canadian Bay that bears his name radically changed the nature of that area. Wildlife and other natural resources were exploited to extinction. But today those areas seem untouched by mankind. In thinking about Hudson’s four attempts to discover the open route over the North Pole for this assignment — we began to imagine how the world might have been different if he was able to find that route! Geopolitically, the world may have been a different place. Could there have been less conflict between northern and southern Europe? Or would the characters in the conflicts have changed?
Could there have been an open sea across the North Pole thousands of years before Hudson’s attempt to find it? There were legends — maybe it existed. And maybe Hudson was 1,000 years too early.
Satellite imaging of the North Pole ice cap shows that the ice is receding. The ocean levels are rising. Every summer, there is more water and less snow and ice. At the current rate of change, there may be an open waterway in another 400 years.
“Ice Shard” commemorates Henry Hudson’s efforts over 400 years ago, and man’s indelible drive to discover new things about the world around us. It reminds us that there is much we don’t know and need to continue to study our own world, appreciating its resiliency and adaptability.
Bio
John Cetra, Design Principal, and Nancy Ruddy, Managing Principal, founded this award-winning architecture and interior design firm in 1987. Recent high profile CetraRuddy projects include new ground- up construction such as One Madison Park in Manhattan; Choice Marina, a new luxury resort property in Cochin, India; and 77 Hudson in Jersey City, NJ, a 1.3–million–square-foot mixed use development currently under construction. Residential restoration, renovation and conversion projects include the Hugh O’Neill Building, 141 Fifth Avenue, and Barbizon/63 (formerly the Barbizon Hotel).
Actively involved in the hotel market, CetraRuddy’s current projects include Cassa NY, under construction on West 45th Street in Manhattan; One Charlotte at the Westin in Charlotte, NC; and three independent flag hotels in Midtown Manhattan.
CetraRuddy is also known for their cultural/educational practice and their wildlife environmental expertise. Important projects include: Lincoln Square Synagogue, Columbia University Graduate Housing, and the Bronx Zoo’s Siberian Tiger Exhibit and Butterfly Garden. CetraRuddy has also been commissioned to design new aviaries, a visitor center, and a master plan for the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center in Oyster Bay, New York.
John Cetra holds a B.A. from City University of New York and a Masters in Architecture from Harvard University, and has been honored by many prestigious industry organizations including: The American Institute of Architects, The New York Society of Architects, and the Concrete Industry Board. Nancy Ruddy received an undergraduate degree in architectural history from New York University followed by architectural studies at The City College of New York. She was named one of the real estate industry’s “100 Women Leaders of the 21st Century” by Real Estate Weekly and “Business Owner of the Year” by the National Association of Women Business Owners.
John and Nancy live in New York City and Dutchess County.
