PROJECTS: Head in the Clouds...

LOCATION: Governors Island, NY 

SIZE: 800 sq ft 

SCOPE: Architecture, Public Art, Installation 

STATUS: Completed 

DESCRIPTION: 

The Head in the Clouds pavilion is the main gathering space for FIGMENT’s 2013 summer-long exhibition on New York’s Governors Island. Chosen from over 200 submissions, our winning proposal for the City of Dreams Pavilion competition (sponsored by American Institute of Architects New York ENYA, Structural Engineers Association of New York, and FIGMENT) comes out of the desire to create a “place to dream in the city of dreams”. After all, the city of dreams is filled with dreamers, and those dreamers need a place to dream that city of dreams.. 

Made from 53,780 recycled bottles - the amount, thrown away in NYC in 1 hour - it is a space where visitors can enter into and contemplate the light and color filtering through the "cloud' from the inside, out. A series of "pillows" made from one gallon jugs form the exterior, while 16 and 24 ounce bottles line the interior. Sand, water, and a curved aluminum frame provide structural integrity and create a small seating/dreaming area for 50 people at the base. We collected used bottles from organizations, businesses, schools, and individuals throughout New York City and beyond, then repurposed the bottles to construct the pavilion. More than 200 volunteers from the arts, architectural, and community at large helped us build and assemble the pavilion. The pavilion was funded in part through a successful crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter and chosen as Kickstarter's Project of the Day on Feb 14, 2013.  

Head in the Clouds is open to the public June 2013--come visit this summer! What do you see as the light shifts through the bottles, and the wind gently blows over the form? What will you dream about, with your head (and body) in the cloud? The City of Dreams?  

AWARDS / RECOGNITION:  

2016 Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award 

2014 AIA National Small Project Award 

2014 Architizer A+ Award Finalist 

2013 Interior Design Best of Year Award 

MEDIA: 

Architectural Record - Cloud Communing 

Interior Design - Best of Year Winner: Installation 

The Weather Channel - Beauty Made of Bottles 

SPECIAL THANKS:  

Two Trees Management, Dumbo BID, Front Street Pizza, Brooklyn Roasting Company, Center for Architecture, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Janice Wang, New York Road Runners, NYCRUNS, City of Philadelphia, Babylon Memorial Grade School, Kurt Ritta, Howard Tsao, our Kickstarter supporters, and all of our volunteers (full list coming soon!) 

METAL COMPONENT FABRICATION:  

4th State Metals 

PHOTOGRAPHY:  

Chuck Choi