Two winners have been announced for the fifth annual cycle of New York’s “City of Dreams” competition: the “Billion Oyster Pavilion” by locally-based BanG Studio and “Organic Growth” by Izaskun Chinchilla Architects of Madrid and London. Pending approvals and fundraising, both pavilions will be assembled on Governors Island and open to the public for the summer 2015 season. The winning pavilions, after the break.
Billion Oyster Pavilion / BanG Studio (Babak Bryan, AIA; Henry Grosman; and Suzie Betts; with Sam Janis, Harbor School/Billion Oyster Project)
BanG’s proposal for the Billion Oyster Pavilion joins two of Governors Island’s most exciting enterprises: FIGMENT / ENYA / SEAoNY’s City of Dreams Pavilion and The New York Harbor School’s Billion Oyster Project. The materials that form the woven canopy (steel rebar, nylon rope, and hose clamps) are used in their harbor restoration work. The base of the pavilion is comprised of custom-cast “Reef Balls,” a restoration device that the school will also use as part of their habitat creation effort. The pavilion will be donated to the Harbor School and its materials will be completely re-used on the island once the summer ends and the pavilion is decommissioned.
Organic Growth Pavilion / Izaskun Chinchilla Architects (Izaskun Chinchilla Moreno, Sally Hart, Adriana Cabello Plasencia, Alejandro Espallargas Omedas and Alfonso Aracil Sánchez)
Izaskun Chinchilla Architects’ design takes inspiration from nature to create an innovative and flexible solution that directly engages with local communities and familiar materials. Flower structures such as those found in hydrangeas have the ability to respond to the natural environment, growing and morphing to remain in balance with nature. Izaskun believes architecture must adopt a similar responsiveness, adapting to uncertain budgets, social change and ecological dynamics naturally, beautifully and intuitively.
The proposed design employs commonly found materials, giving them a new life after they have become unfit for their original purpose. The design utilizes broken umbrellas, old stools and damaged bicycle wheels, which several institutions in New York are already recycling. As with mop-head flowers, the pavilion is composed of many smaller elements, all of which can be dismantled and re-used after the summer. Branches composed of several umbrellas and tripods, can be easily reused as sun, wind, and rain protection in outdoor spaces all around the city. Larger elements can be beautiful indoor chandeliers and can be useful for community centers or other public spaces.
Now that the winners have been announced, the design teams will work with FIGMENT, ENYA, SEAoNY, and Governors Island to select the final site for the projects, refine the designs, obtain necessary approvals, and fabricate and install the pavilions on the island. However, building two pavilions rather than one increases the amount of support required. Learn how you can donate to the project, here. Each project will likely also be launching its own Kickstarter campaign.
The winners were announced by FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY).
Past winners include the Governors Cup by CDR Studio (2014), Head in the Clouds by STUDIOKCA (2013), Burble Bup by The Bittertang Farm (2011), and Living Pavilion by Ann Ha, Assoc. AIA, and Behrang Behin, Assoc. AIA (2010).
Project descriptions and news via AIANY.
