Heartwalk: Annual Valentine Heart Competition

Annual Valentine Heart Competition in Time Square

Brooklyn-Based Firm Situ Studio Selected As Winner Of  The 2013 Times Square Valentine Heart Design  Design Includes New York and New Jersey Boardwalk Boards Salvaged from the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
2013 Invited Competition is a Collaboration between Times Square Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space

Brooklyn-based design firm Situ Studio is the winner of this year’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design. Over the last five years, the Times Square Alliance has invited architecture and design firms to submit proposals for a romantic public art installation celebrating Valentine’s Day in Times Square. This year’s winning design, Situ Studio’s Heartwalk, will be unveiled on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, and remain on view until March 8, 2013.

For the first time in this annual competition, Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborated withDesign Trust for Public Space, to invite emerging architecture and design firms to submit proposals for consideration. Eight firms submitted proposals for the heart design.

The jury that selected the winning entry included: Barry Bergdoll, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art; Susan Chin, FAIA, Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space; Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art, Times Square Alliance; Tom Finkelpearl, Executive Director of Queens Museum of Art; Rosamond Fletcher, Director of Programs, Design Trust for Public Space; Sara Reisman, Director of Percent for Art, Department of Cultural Affairs; Jennifer Lantzas, Public Art Coordinator, Department of Parks, City of New York;  and Emily Colasacco, Manager, Urban Design & Art, Department of Transportation. Out of the eight proposals, the jury chose Situ Studio and their Heartwalk design as the winner.

Situ Studio took inspiration from the collective experience of Hurricane Sandy and the love that binds people together during trying times. Whether it was the radically reconfigured landscapes, the compromised infrastructural networks, or the temporary solutions that emerged in the days and weeks that followed the storm, Hurricane Sandy confronted all New Yorkers and New Jerseyans by transforming the familiar.

Using boardwalk boards salvaged during Sandy’s aftermath—from Long Beach, New York; Sea Girt, New Jersey; and Atlantic City, New Jersey—Heartwalk begins as two ribbons of wooden planks that fluidly lift from the ground to form a heart shaped enclosure in the middle of Duffy Square. The slatted construction, illuminated from within, provides varied views of the interior as visitors move around the perimeter of the installation. Visitors can enter the installation itself and literally stand in the heart of the world’s greatest city.

“Situ Studio, one of the most inventive and vibrant of New York's small young design firms, repeatedly transforms daily urban environments with simple materials in unexpected configurations,” said Barry Bergdoll, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, and jury member. “This heart is a frame for lovers and a great civic gesture commemorating the outpouring of support and help in the wake of Sandy. Heartwalk is a heartwarming stage on which to pause for a moment in the heart of the world's busiest intersection—a swell of emotions that can dialogue with the TKTS pavilion and the great cacophony of Times Square.”

Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “The Design Trust for Public Space’s knowledge of up-and-coming architecture and design firms, combined with their understanding of public space and audience engagement, made them a perfect partner. The presence of Situ Studio’s enveloping heart design—made of salvaged materials from Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath— in the Crossroads of the World will allow everyone to come together and acknowledge New York and New Jersey’s resiliency.”

“Times Square is one of the world's greatest public spaces. The concepts for the Valentine presented by these emerging practices ranged from imaginative and playful to interactive and sustainable. Situ's proposal created a special place where people can connect with each other in the heart of the city,” said Susan Chin, FAIA, Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space.

Bradley Samuels, Situ Studio partner, said, “We were interested in creating a room within the city—a public space that was simultaneously interior and exterior. Taking inspiration from the collective experience of Sandy, Heartwalk is a reflection on the things that bind us together, ephemeral and permanent.”

Other invited finalists for the 2013 Times Square Valentine Heart Design included: Abrahams May Architects; Abruzzo Bodziak Architects LLC; EASTON+COMBS;  FORMLESSFINDER;  HOLLER Architecture;  Manifold Architecture Studio; and RUX Design.   Click here to see some of the designs.

 

Posted by Mags/ From Timesquare Alliance