MoMA PS1’s YAP 2016 winning design by Escobedo Solíz Studio

MoMA PS1’s YAP 2016 winning design by Escobedo Solíz Studio

In February 2016, the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 announced Mexican practice Escobedo Solíz Studio as the winner of the annual Young Architects Program (YAP) in New York.

The winning project, Weaving the Courtyard, opened at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City in early June.
The architects describe this year’s construction as “neither an object nor a sculpture standing in the courtyard, but a series of simple, powerful actions that generate new and different atmospheres.”

Weaving the Courtyard is a site-specific architectural intervention using the courtyard’s concrete walls to generate both sky and landscape, with embankments in which soil and water platforms suggest a unique topography.

A reflective wading pool stands at the back of the courtyard allowing visitors to cool off in fresh water. Using the modulation of holes existing in the concrete by the formwork ties from when the walls were originally poured, the architects weaved a textured canopy suspended over the courtyard, or a “cloud” made of contrasting yet colorful ropes.

Variations of density are visible throughout the weaving, inviting visitors to interact and occupy spaces for different periods.
The woven cloud provides shade to the visitors below while recasting the courtyard in a bright-colored web.
As the construction process will largely unalter the materials, they can be re-used at the close of summer.

The YAP- Young Architects Program
Now in its 17th edition, the Young Architects Program at MoMA and MoMA PS1 has been committed to offering emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative projects, challenging each year’s winners to develop creative designs for a temporary outdoor installation at MoMA PS1 that provides shade, seating, and water.

images:
Rendering of Escobedo Solíz Studio’s “Weaving the Courtyard”
winning design of the 2016 Young Architects Program.
The Museum of Modern Art and MoMAPS1.
Image courtesy of Escobedo Solíz Studio

images courtesy of MoMA PS1
http://momaps1.org/