by Julie Engh Assoc. AIA
Attendees donned hard hats to peek behind the scenes at the new park and public spaces under development at the center of Governors Island before meandering through the FIGMENT “Head in the Clouds” pavilion. Jamie Maslyn Larson, principal-in-charge of West 8’s Governors Island Park and Public Space Project, discussed the multi-phase Governors Island Park Master Plan while guiding attendees through portions of the Liggett Terrace and Hammock Grove construction sites. The future four-acre Liggett Terrace public space is framed by the wings of Liggett Hall, a massive Neo-Georgian structure designed by McKim, Mead & White in the 1930s for military use. Liggett Terrace’s interactive water features will encourage kids to play, while the Hammock Grove’s seven-acre grove will offer a shady relaxation area. In homage to Governors Island’s former name of “Nooten Eylandt,” or “Nut Island,” the 55 species of Hammock Grove’s 300 new trees will feature nut-producing varieties.
Designer Lesley Chang of Studio Klimoski Chang Architects (StudioKCA) led tour-goers through “Head in the Clouds,” StudioCKA’s winning entry to the 2012-2013 FIGMENT City of Dreams Pavilion Design-Build Competition. The pavilion is made from 53,780 milk jugs and water bottles – the number of plastic bottles thrown away in New York City in just one hour. The structure’s 1.5-inch aluminum tube armature supports the milk jug “pillows” that give the cloud its bumpy, organic exterior shape, while the water bottles, accentuated with organic food coloring and water, create the interior’s blue hue. “Head in the Clouds” is the third volunteer-constructed pavilion on Governors Island built as part of the City of Dreams Pavilion program, co-sponsored by FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY). The pavilion will be open to visitors through Governors Island’s 2013 summer season, so make sure to visit the island before September 29th!
More information on the Governors Island Master Plan and the FIGMENT/ENYA/SEAoNY City of Dreams Pavilion Competition can be found here:
The Governors Island Park Master Plan
FIGMENT City of Dreams Pavilion
Julie Ann Engh, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, currently serves as the 2013 AIANYS Associate Director and AIANY Architecture Tour Committee Co-Chair.
Event: Behind the Scenes Hard Hat Tour of Governors Island and the FIGMENT City of Dreams “Head in the Clouds” Pavilion
Location: Governors Island, 08.24.13
Speakers: Jamie Maslyn Larson, West 8; Lesley Chang, Studio Klimoski Chang Architects; Amanda Rivera, Assoc. AIA, AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee Co-Chair
Organizers: AIANY Architecture Tour Committee, AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee, and the Trust for Governors Island