Winning design team to construct an architectural pavilion out of recycled aluminum cast into cracked clay for Governors Island 2017 Summer Season

A distinguished jury has selected the winning design in the seventh annual City of Dreams Pavilion Competition: Cast & Place by Team Aesop (Josh Draper from PrePost/RPI-CASE, Lisa Ramsburg and Powell Draper from Schlaich Bergermann Partner, Edward M. Segal from Hofstra University, and Max Dowd from Cooper Union). Pending approvals and fundraising, this temporary art structure will be assembled on Governors Island and open to the public for the summer 2017 season.

The annual competition is hosted by 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). The City of Dreams Pavilion, so named for its focus on the future of a world that faces strains on both economic and natural resources, aims to promote sustainability-oriented thinking amidst the architecture and design communities, and requires designers to consider the environmental impact of their designs in everything from materials sourcing to disposal (or ideally reuse) of waste at the end of the season.

Cast & Place re-imagines waste as a transformative resource for our New York City future. Soil dredged from the East River, the material also used in the construction of Governors Island, is laid out to dry and crack. 250,000 aluminum cans are melted down and poured into the cracked dredge. The results are light, strong panels that provide structure and shade, assembled into spaces for performance and play. Rain-soaked reflecting pools of dredge reveal the pavilion’s formwork as they dry and crack in the summer heat, inducing meditations on time, materiality, and the sources of our city.

Cast & Place by Team Aesop (Josh Draper, Lisa Ramsburg, Powell Draper, Edward M. Segal, and Max Dowd)

Team Aesop will work with FIGMENT, ENYA, SEAoNY, and Governors Island to select the exact site for Cast & Place, refine the design, obtain necessary approvals, and fabricate and install the pavilion on the island.

The project has launched a Kickstarter campaign to support the fabrication, installation, and maintenance of the pavilion on Governors Island for the 2017 summer season. Donations can be made by clicking here.