“Governor’s Cup” Opens During FIGMENT NYC as the 2014 City of Dreams Pavilion

June 5, 2014

New York City, June 5, 2014 – 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 the opening of CDR Studio’s Governor’s Cup, the winner of the fourth-annual City of Dreams Pavilion Competition on Saturday June 7, 2014. The opening ceremony will commence at 12:00 PM at the Governors Island’s Parade Grounds. The project will be on display at Governors Island this summer and will be open to the public every day from June 7 to September 21, 2014.

High-resolution renderings of the Governor’s Cup design are available here:
http://newyork.figmentproject.org/2014_nyc_pavilion

CDR’s “Governor’s Cup” is a densely-knit serpentine canopy made of discarded plastic cups supported by a cluster of trees on the southern side of the Parade Ground. Implementing structural strategies of crochet techniques, a lacey infill of perforated and reconfigured cups will weave between a densely packed tape structure creating an airborne topography of refracted light and shadow. Wind will animate the canopy creating shimmering movement and sound. Blending with the trees, the pavilion forms a shared outdoor room. Holes punched through the cups serve to drain rain but also let in the ever-changing color of the sky. The cups are both translucent and reflective, and reveal the potential to catch light, redirecting sight-lines along the continuous tape structure. Light-weight but resilient, the pavilion is a step toward prototyping shade structures for less fortunate situations.

In the past months, CDR Studio collected the 30,000 recycled cups for the pavilion’s construction. Their plan was to gather clear, plastic cups after large public events as well as at smaller venues. Through community involvement, they promoted participatory artwork and showcased the collective energy involved in a project like this. They installed temporary depositories for recycling plastic cups in various locations throughout the city. Their boxes had imprinted information about Figment NYC 2014 and the City of Dreams Pavilion, along with ways for the public to become further involved. Each cup contributes to the design. It is the true heart of the project.

About the design team: CDR Studio
Established in New York City in 1996, CDR Studio is a multidisciplinary architecture practice with an emphasis on pragmatic research and building realization. CDR Studio’s portfolio is a manifestation of the processes of collaboration and consideration of the unique qualities and constraints of each project. CDR Studio uses evolving technology to create unique works of architecture while incorporating environmentally sound principles.

A spirit of collaboration is the bedrock of CDR Studio’s design and project-management processes. Partners play an integral role in every step of project development and progress. Guided by ongoing dialogue with clients, consultants, artists and craftspeople, CDR Studio is committed to the discovery of their clients’ core challenges and goals. Immediate or “signature” solutions are eschewed in favor of consensus-building throughout the execution of the design.

They do not specialize in one type of market or building. Their body of work includes institutional, educational, commercial and residential projects as well as furniture design and urban planning. Their scope of work begins at a project’s conception — sounding out ideas — through the project’s completion of construction, with an eye on the post-occupancy issues of the building itself.

CDR Studio embraces the procedural aspects of architectural practice. It is the vigilant and rigorous budget tracking, community protocol, consultant coordination, contractual adherence and construction problem-solving that define architectural quality.

CDR Studio Architects has won eight AIA awards and was selected as one of the 24 original small firms in the NYC Department of Design and Construction’s “Design for Excellence” initiative. CDR Studio has been featured in numerous design journals and publications.

FIGMENT is accepting donations to support the fabrication, installation, and maintenance of Governor’s Cup on Governors Island by following the link to donate to the pavilion here: http://newyork.figmentproject.org/products-page/donate.

About the Competition:
FIGMENT has teamed with the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) of the American Institute of Architects NYC Chapter (AIANYC) 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 2015 pavilion will be our fifth City of Dreams Pavilion Design Competition. The result of our first competition, in 2010, was the Living Pavilion, designed by Ann Ha, Assoc. AIA, and Behrang Behin, Assoc. AIA. Our second competition, in 2011, led to Burble Bup by Bittertang. Our third competition winner was Head in the Clouds by StudioKCA, which was installed in 2013 and won a Best of Year award from Interior Design Magazine in the installation category. Our fourth pavilion is Governors Cup by CDR Studio, which is installed on Governors Island for the 2014 summer season, and is open to the public every day from June 7 to September 21, 2014.

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 over 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 4,000 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 percent 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.

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