All photos: HWKN

Wendy is coming. In just over two weeks time, “Wendy“, winner of the 2012 Young Architects Program, will open in the courtyard of MoMA PS1 primed for a summer of fun.  Designed by Architizer sister firm Hollwich-Kushner (HWKN), the project is notable for its creative approach to the ecological issues that contemporary architecture and urbanism now face, using some 28,000 square feet of ground-breaking fabric treated with photocatalytic titania spray to clean the air around it.

Construction began last month in the PS1 courtyard, with the erection of the scaffolding taking some four weeks to complete. Now in week 5, Wendy’s iconic starburst shape is coming into view, with the first of her 64 blue spikes being currently assembled. While she looks large, Wendy only covers a tiny fraction of the courtyard surface, with a planimetric footprint of just 3,120 square feet (out of 19,816 square feet). The porosity of the scaffolding and the intricate web of spikes create numerous public and intimate zones, all of which are shaded by Wendy’s multifaceted form and cooled by fans integrated in the higher registers of the structure above.

A performance platform will be set up facing Wendy where an extensive roster of DJ’s will take the stage for a season of Warm Up events.  The secondary courtyard north of the main space is being converted into a mini waterpark that will offer several fun water-themed attractions, including cascading pools, waterfalls, rain, misting areas, and water cannons (stored in a number of the blue spikes angled overhead).

Thousands of people are expected to meet Wendy this summer beginning July 1 and on through September 8, when the pavilion will be dismantled, its scaffold structure returned to a warehouse to be stored for future use and its nano-particle infused fabric recycled and parceled throughout the city’s construction sites. For more on Wendy, including how to volunteer or purchase merchandise, visit the project site.

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged construction, environmental architecture, HWKN, in progress, moma, moma ps1, nanoparticles, pavilion, summer, titania nanoparticles, warm up, Wendy, young architects program

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