BanG Studio

Two winning designs were selected in the 2015 City of Dreams Competition, the fifth annual contest to create a pavilion with zero impact that provides a new eco-friendly way of thinking about design and construction. The pavilion is then constructed on New York’s Governors Island for the summer season.

This year’s two winning designs were Billion Oyster Pavilion by BanG Studio of New York City and Organic Growth by Izaskun Chinchilla Architects of Madrid and London. Deadlocked for more than four hours, the jury of prominent architects, designers, and writers ultimately chose to select both entries. Profoundly focused on sustainability, the Billion Oyster Pavilion highlights the indelible interests of growing new oyster beds in the New York Harbor. Equally green, the Organic Growth Pavilion’s focal point is waste and the repurposing of what would have been trash.

The jury consisted of Kath Creutzburg, a multimedia artist and sculptor; Jason Klimoski, AIA, co-founder at STUDIOKCA; Nat Oppenheimer, executive vice president at Robert Silman Associates; Eva Perez de Vega, partner at e+i studio; Alexander Levi, AIA, principal at SLO Architecture; and Lori Zimmer, writer for Inhabitat. Serving as a mentor was Marc Bailly, AIA, an architect at Bailly & Bailly.

The City of Dreams Competition is a partnership between FIGMENT, 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).

Billion Oyster Pavilion

The steel rebar, nylon rope, and hose clamps forming the woven canopy are used in the firm’s harbor restoration project. Custom cast “Reef Balls” are used as the base of the pavilion; this restoration device is also used as part of the habitat creation effort for local wildlife. The Harbor School, located on Governors Island, whose mission is to provide an education built upon New York City’s maritime experience, will receive the pavilion, and the materials used throughout the design will be re-purposed on the island once the summer ends.

Organic Growth Pavilion

The design uses prevalent materials and gives them a new life once they are unfit for their original purpose, such as broken umbrellas, stools, and damaged bicycle wheels. Also used are smaller elements that can be dismantled and used again at summer’s end. For example, the branches made of umbrellas and tripods can be reused as sun, wind, and rain protection in outdoor areas around the city.

Izaskun Chinchilla Architects