LOT has been selected as the winner of the third annual Flatiron Public Plaza design competition in New York, which called for proposals from 5 New York City firms to design a temporary installation to be located at the base of the iconic Flatiron Building.
The winning proposal, titled “Flatiron Sky-Line,” consists of a series of 10 large contiguous arches, constructed out of white powder-coated steel tubes housing LED lights, from which an array of hammocks will be suspended to allow visitors to rest and take in the surrounding landmarks such as the Met Life Tower and Empire State Building.
“Flatiron Sky-Line is an engaging installation, creating a social space underneath the illuminated arched outline, a structure to walk within and around, gaze through it towards the skyline, and experience Flatiron’s surroundings through a certain lens,” said LOT principal Leonidas Trampoukis. “The simplicity of the installation’s design will draw in audiences, and, we expect, produce significant feelings as they stand in one of our country’s most recognizable intersections.”
Finalists
Radiant Forest / Architensions
Radiant Forest is a pavilion that promotes interaction between people and encourages gathering in a comfortable environment. A composition of movable and stationary vertical slats partially skinned with a mirror film reflects visitors and passersby, highlighting the beautiful differences in our city across changing colors, seasons, days and nights. The forest invites visitors to follow unpredictable paths as they are drawn to an area by fiber optic curtains and radiant heating dishes. A sensor activates the radiant dishes and the fiber optics light up with RGB irradiation map colors, measuring the real-time temperature of the bodies occupying the space.
Flatiron Roc Chair / Büro Koray Duman Architects
Design has the power to create a sense of belonging, joy, and an ownership of public space. A design that provides a sense of familiarity between strangers in public while being playful is the core of Flatiron Roc Chair. As passersby enter and sit down, the piece rocks up and down, animating the holiday spirit. At night, in a fixed, upright position, the piece transforms into a stage where festive choirs perform. LED lights adhered to framing provide a glow underneath. Fitted polycarbonate panels at the ends offer safety for the kinetic movement of the piece.
Vanishing Point / FreelandBuck
Our visual experience is layered with the dense clouds of imagery and information encountered through digital devices and social networks. Expanding on this new visual capacity, Vanishing Point collects partial, oblique views of the Flatiron Building that are imprinted on layers of translucent fabric and woven into three kaleidoscopic urban objects. Condensing the countless images of the iconic building found online and elsewhere into a three-dimensional structure, the project captures multiple modes of seeing. From a central point within the pavilion, the layered drawings align into a unified image reminiscent of the iconic prow of the building. Vanishing Point further proliferates the building’s image as the subject of new photos during the holiday festival.
Silver Shimmer / Young & Ayata
Silver Shimmer appears at first as a field of vibrating light. When visitors approach, views shift through alignments of the chromed steel pipe structure, offering glimpses through the pavilion. Upon entering, one becomes immersed in the reflections of mirror-finished, bell-shaped balloons inflated to nestle within the lattice, reflecting the context and the luminous lines of the pavilion into a specular spectacular. What is not immediately apparent is that the pavilion is entirely constructed out of what already exists in the Flatiron Plaza, the public tables. This humble public amenity is transformed into something otherworldly, a shimmering lattice of light.
“Flatiron Sky-Line” will open to the public on Monday, November 21 on the North Flatiron Public Plaza at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, and will remain on view throughout the holiday season.
Now in its third year, the annual competition is organized by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Van Alen Institute to activate Flatiron Public Plaza during the holiday season. Previous winners include SOFTLab’s “Nova” and "New York Light" by INABA.
News via Van Alen Institute.
