Young Architects Program International

Project Team: Architect: Moorhead & Moorhead; Structural Engineer: Hage Engineering; Lighting Design: MediumBase; Graphic Design: PS New York

This proposal for the 2013 Young Architects Program embraces the curatorial call for a pavilion to host outdoor programming for the upcoming MoMA PS1 exhibition EXPO 1: New York.

It breaks with the YAP tradition of transforming the courtyard into an immersive Warm Up environment, and focuses instead on creating a distinct area in which to host a range of EXPO 1–related events. At the same time it hopes to push program’s themes of sustainability recycling and reuse by proposing that the entire pavilion be relocated to a permanent home, after its temporary stay at MoMA PS1.

Shade
280 folded composite aluminum tiles are arrayed across a wood support structure to create a shade canopy, 56 feet long by 28 feet wide by 14 feet tall. A pattern, routed into flat composite aluminum panels, allows them to be folded into a rigid three dimensional tile which, when repeated, generates a play of light and shadow across both the ceiling of the pavilion and the courtyard ground plane.

Water
A single wading pool, 15 inches tall and 12 feet in diameter, includes a continuous bench around its circumference. Constructed of composite aluminum panels and plywood, it is detailed to be drained for regular refreshing, and to accommodate repositioning. The design also includes a cover that can be used to convert the pool into a raised speaking platform.

Seating
A pair of tiered modular seating elements—one convex, the other concave—are designed to be configured into a series of different arrangements, each suggesting possible EXPO 1 event programming. The units are 45 inches tall, 54 inches long, and 63 inches at the widest end. There are a total of eight of each unit, and they are built of composite aluminum and plywood.

Sustainability, Recycling, and Reuse
EXPO 1 Pavilion is designed to be reused in its entirety. It is a modular assembly that can be taken apart at the end of the summer, and re-assembled (either as one pavilion or four smaller ones) in a new, permanent, location. In preliminary conversations, the New York City Department Parks and Recreation has indicated a strong interest in providing a second home for the pavilion.

Text submitted by Moorhead & Moorhead