Rogers Marvel exhibit inspires visitors to speak out!
Jun 12, 2008 6:08 pm
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On Governors Island in Building 110, Rogers Marvel Architects have created an exhibition that allows visitors to give their ideas about what they would like to see in the future park here.The southern half of the island is undergoing an exciting change: a design competition called Park at the Center of the World featured the proposals for a new park and Great Promenade from five different design teams, and this past December, the West 8, Rogers Marvel, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Quennell Rothschild, and SMWM team was selected to design the new park! As a result of their selection, Rogers Marvel set up an exhibit featuring a time-line that depicts the history of the island since European contact in 1524, when it was first sighted by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. Also present are renderings of their ideas for the park and Great Promenade, which cover the walls of the space like wall paper. Now that the competition for a team is over, the architects are eager to hear from visitors about what they want to see and do in such a unique park. In order to allow people to share their ideas not just with the designers, but with other patrons, post-it-notes, markers, and stamps (for exuberant children not yet able to write) are provided. Once comments have been recorded they are then posted on the wall, inside a silhouette of the island. As space becomes more limited, the notes get layered, and the effect of all of these competing ideas emerging, disappearing, and reemerging is extremely telling of the public’s strong positions on the subject. Suggestions range from “architecture that talks to the existing history” to “nightly fireworks” and beyond. This exhibit will be up all summer and each week, new comments are being recorded, and provided to the designers. Your contributions will help out, and while your visiting, feel free to sign our guest book.
