Winning Installation for the 2016 Holiday Season to be Unveiled on November 21; Installation Anchors Flatiron Partnership’s “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” Festivities
NEW YORK, October 31, 2016 – The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Van Alen Institute today announced LOT’s Flatiron Sky-Line as the winner of the Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition, the third annual competition of its kind, which called for proposals from New York City design firms for a temporary installation in the heart of the Flatiron District. LOT’s winning proposal, Flatiron Sky-Line, will be the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual holiday programming and a highly visible landmark in this thriving New York City neighborhood.
Flatiron Sky-Line is a series of 10 large contiguous arches, constructed of white powder-coated steel tubes with LED lights. Hammocks suspended from the arches allow visitors to relax and gaze upon the district’s architectural sights.
LOT, an award-winning architectural and design firm based in New York City and Greece directed by principals Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis, has developed an array of projects, ranging from objects and installations to interior spaces and buildings, across the world, including showrooms, lofts, and sculptural displays. Flatiron Sky-Line will be the firm’s first large-scale public installation in New York City.
“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 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.”
The installation opens 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 through the holidays as part of the Partnership’s “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” programming. The installation is permitted through NYC DOT Art.
The closed call competition began in June 2016, when the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute – an organizer of design competitions for more than 120 years – invited five design and architecture firms to submit proposals. Invited firms were: Architensions; Büro Koray Duman Architects; Freeland Buck; LOT; and Young & Ayata. A jury with expertise across the worlds of design and public art, including representatives from the Flatiron Partnership and Van Alen Institute’s board of trustees, reviewed the proposals.
“The holiday installation is now a tradition in the district that is enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. It provides a festive experience on the Public Plaza during the holiday season,” said Jennifer Brown, Executive Director of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership. “Flatiron Sky-Line most certainly will become a destination for people who already are in love with Flatiron – or are visiting our neighborhood for the first time.”
“This project is an exciting opportunity to engage with a local site and designer,” said David van der Leer, Executive Director of Van Alen Institute. “LOT’s Flatiron Sky-Line offers a chance for visitors to the plaza to pause and witness the spectacular landmarks and invigorating street life of the neighborhood.”
“DOT Art is committed to supporting interactive public art installations that temporarily change the City’s public spaces in both safe and surprising ways,” said DOT Assistant Commissioner of Design + Art + Wayfinding Wendy Feuer. “We are excited to be partnering with the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership for the third year and value the organization’s dedication to commissioning interesting and sometimes playful installations during the busy holiday season.”
Throughout the holidays, the Partnership is encouraging visitors to use the hashtag #FlatironSkyline on Twitter and Instagram to share images of the installation and be entered into a contest to win prizes from local businesses.
Sponsored by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership, Flatiron Sky-Line and the accompanying programming “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” is also made possible with generous support from Presenting Sponsor Meringoff Properties and Contributing Sponsors Grey Group and Macmillan. Several partners provided in-kind donations of products and services to LOT for the installation. They are: Daniel Urrutia for Armour Unsderfer Engineering (AUE); Bliss Hammocks, Inc.; Creston Electronics, Inc.; Fabric Images; Map Design Studio, and Green LED Lighting Solutions.
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Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition – Invited Proposals
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.
Competition Jury Members Nicholas Athanail, The Corcoran Group and Flatiron Partnership board member; Natasha Jen, Partner, Pentagram; Wendy Feuer, Assistant Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation Urban Design & Art; Jessica Healy, Van Alen board member; Michael Szivos, SoftLAB; Jennifer Brown, Executive Director, Flatiron Partnership; Aleksey Lukyanov-Cherny, Partner, SITU Studio; David van der Leer, Executive Director, Van Alen Institute; and, Sherry Dobbin, Director, Times Square Arts.
About the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the area’s reputation as one of New York’s most vital and exciting neighborhoods. This is accomplished by maintaining a clean and safe environment for the district’s businesses, residents and visitors; by spearheading area improvement projects; and by marketing the diverse business and retail options in this vibrant and historic neighborhood.
About Van Alen Institute At Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives. We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow. Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross-disciplinary research, provocative public programs, and inventive design competitions.
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About LOT LOT is an award winning architectural and design firm with offices in New York and in Greece focusing on applying strong design concepts with consciousness and pragmatism around the world. LOT works on an array of projects ranging in scale and complexity from objects and installations to interior spaces and buildings. LOT was founded in 2012 by Leonidas Trampoukis and Eleni Petaloti and in 2014 the office was selected for the Wallpaper* Architects Directory, the iconic magazine’s list of the best architectural talent from around the globe.
About NYCDOT ART Launched in October 2008, the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program invigorates the City’s streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. The Program partners with community-based organizations and artists to present murals, sculptures, projections and performances on plazas, fences, barriers, bridges and sidewalks for up to 11 months. Projects are presented within four program tracks: Arterventions, Barrier Beautification, Community Commissions and Art Display Case.