by: AIA New York
On Monday, October 15 at the Center for Architecture, AIA New York and the Times Square Alliance announced that Reddymade’s “X” had been selected the winner of the 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition. The announcement was made at the opening for the first-ever exhibition of proposals for the competition, which will be on view through November 2.
The Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition invites New York City-based firms to submit proposals for a public art installation celebrating love in the heart of the city. For 2019’s competition, Times Square Arts, in collaboration with AIA New York, invited firms to contemplate how a Valentine sent from the heart of Times Square might embrace various expressions of love, both individual and collective. The brief asked selected participants: “Can the public art installation generate connections and ignite conversations that articulate our aspirations as individuals, as a city, as a nation, and beyond?”
Reddymade’s “X” will be unveiled on February 1 at 11am at Father Duffy Square, between 46th and 47th Streets. The installation will remain on view for the month of February. The winning design evokes many expressions of interpersonal and civic love, including the written symbol for a kiss, a representation of intersecting forms, and the mark on a vote. Much like the convergence of lines in an X, people from all backgrounds cross paths in Times Square; Reddymade’s design offers a purposeful moment for further exchange and connection.
“X” takes its form with two intersecting aluminum planes, creating a passageway through and meeting place beneath the 18-foot-tall structure – the largest and tallest winning design ever selected for this competition. Rounded openings at the crossing of the planes combine to form heart shapes when viewed from different angles. “X”’s glowing light grows brighter as people gather underneath, in a physical expression of the power of community and love.
Other invited finalists for the 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Design included: Agency-Agency, Buro Koray Duman, Isometric Studio, N H D M , Only If Architecture, Splice Design, and STUDIO 397.