FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architect Committee (ENYA) of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) are pleased to announce that Studio Klimoski Chang Architects’ Head in the Clouds has been assembled on Governors Island, and will be open to the public for the summer 2013 season June 8 through September 22.
Photo (c) 2013 Tom Egan
About Head in the Clouds
Designers Jason Klimoski, AIA, and Lesley Chang of Studio Klimoski Chang Architects kept sustainability in mind when designing Head in the Clouds. The structure’s armature is made from 1.5″ aluminum tubes that use less material and are easier to transport than more traditional materials such as wood. All the materials are recyclable in an effort to limit the carbon footprint. Klimoski and Chang worked with schools and local organizations, including New York Road Runners and NYCRUNS, to collect the 53,780 milk jugs and water bottles needed to create Head in the Clouds. The jugs were used to create 120 “pillows” that give the cloud its bumpy, organic shape. The bottles, accentuated with organic food coloring and water, create the interior’s blue hue.
Head in the Clouds offers visitors the chance to walk into the clouds, experiencing them from the inside out. Clouds are collections of water and movement that seem to form animals, people, and cities by dreamers gazing at the sky. With their ‘heads in the clouds’ sky gazers visualize fantastical shapes, ideas, and spaces. The City of Dreams Pavilion is a place dedicated to dreaming, and this year’s winning project exemplifies this ideal. This project creates a venue where visitors can lose themselves in both the cloud-like structure, as well as the clouds in the sky around them.
Photo (c) 2013 Tes Rivera
About the design team: Studio Klimoski Chang Architects
Jason Klimoski, AIA, received his Master’s Degree in Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in architecture, history, and sculpture from the University of Minnesota. He worked for Ingo Maurer and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill before forming an independent studio designing and building lights and furniture.
Lesley Chang received her Master’s Degree in Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in architecture from Columbia University. She worked for Steven Holl Architects and Gensler prior to establishing an independent practice working on residential and commercial projects in the U.S. and Asia.
Together, Jason and Lesley founded Studio Klimoski Chang Architects (studioKCA), a Brooklyn-based firm combining their practices into one studio/workshop. Informed by the parallels between making lights and building spaces, the practice explores how light and materials tell a story, shape an experience, and create a sense of place. Current projects include a light installation in Madison, Wisconsin, and residences in New York City and Vermont.
FIGMENT is accepting donations to support the maintenance of Head in the Clouds on Governors Island by following the link to donate to the pavilion here. Please make a contribution, and help us maintain this awesome project throughout the summer! Thank you in advance for your donation!
Photo (c) 2013 Nate Davis
About the Competition
FIGMENT teamed with 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) to host a competition to design and construct an architectural pavilion on Governors Island, the City of Dreams Pavilion. The 2012-2013 pavilion will be the third City of Dreams Pavilion. The result of the inaugural first competition, in 2010, was the Living Pavilion, designed by Ann Ha, Assoc. AIA, and Behrang Behin, Assoc. AIA. The second competition, in 2011, led to Burble Bup by Bittertang. These first two pavilions were created through a six-month process that included a call for proposals, a design competition, and a rapid fabrication and installation process. This year’s pavilion extended this process, holding the design competition in 2012 to create a pavilion on Governors Island in 2013.
Jurors for the 2012-2013 City of Dreams Pavilion competition reviewed nearly 200 design proposal submissions and selected five finalists who each had three months further develop their designs in response to the jury’s comments. The jurors were: Vicki Arbitrio, PE, Associate Partner, Gilsanz Murray Steficek; Kai-Uwe Bergmann, AIA, LEED AP, RIBA, MAA, Partner, BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Marc Clemenceau Bailly, AIA, Partner, Gage / Clemenceau Architects; Marc Kushner, AIA, Co-founder, HWKN Architects; Michael Loverich, Partner, Bittertang, 2011 City of Dreams Pavilion designer; Kristen Richards, Hon. AIA, Hon. ASLA, Editor-in-Chief, Oculus, ArchNewsNow. Ada Tolla, Int’l Assoc. AIA, partner at LOT-EK acted as Pavilion Mentor for the competition, consulting with each finalist team as they prepared their final submissions.
Photo (c) 2013 Emma Tuccillo
About FIGMENT
FIGMENT is a free participatory arts event held in multiple cities and attracting tens of thousands of participants each year. FIGMENT celebrates an abundance of creativity and passion, challenging artists and our communities to find new ways to create, share, think, and dream. Become a part of events in multiple cities in the US and Australia, and interactive exhibits on NYC’s Governors Island throughout the summer season. For more information on participating cities, visit figmentproject.org.
FIGMENT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization entirely funded by grants and individual donations. FIGMENT accepts no corporate sponsorship of any kind. FIGMENT is supported by public funds from the National Endowment of the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, as well as by the Fund for Creative Communities, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. FIGMENT Boston is produced with support from the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the designated stewards of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and site of FIGMENT Boston. FIGMENT Jackson is produced with support from the Greater Jackson Arts Council.
ABOUT ENYA, AIA New York
It is the goal of the Emerging New York Architects Committee to encourage membership, participation, and leadership in AIA New York among intern architects, young architects (licensed 10 years or less), and emerging professionals in the fields of design and construction. The committee engages NYC’s diverse emerging design professionals through lectures, design competitions, and networking opportunities, with a focus on Professional Development, Design Excellence, and Public Outreach.
AIA New York is the oldest and largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The Chapter’s members include almost 5,000 practicing architects, allied professionals, students, and public members interested in architecture and design. AIA New York is dedicated to three goals: design excellence, public outreach, and professional development.
ABOUT SEAoNY
SEAoNY is a member organization of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations. Presently, 39 states and the District of Columbia have structural engineers’ associations, the largest of which is SEAOC, Structural Engineers Association of California, which was founded in 1930 and presently has approximately 4000 members.
The association sponsors workshops, panel discussions, lectures and seminars with the aim of addressing topics of interest and concern to structural engineers. Our membership, which is over 500 members, includes individuals from most major structural engineering design firms in New York State.
SEAoNY also reaches out to other professionals, outside the engineering community, who work in related fields with common interests. Currently, 10% of our membership is affiliate members who come from a variety of disciplines such as geotechnical, civil, construction management and architecture.
The purpose of SEAoNY is to advance the art of structural engineering in New York by improving the flow of ideas and building the community of colleagues.