FIGMENT, ENYA and SEAoNY unveiled the winner of the third annual City of Dreams Pavilion Competition. The jury has selected Studio Klimoski Chang Architects' Head in the Clouds as the winner. Pending agency approvals and fundraising, the winning project will be assembled on Governors Island next spring, and will be open to the public for the summer 2013 season.
Designers Jason Klimoski, AIA, and Lesley Chang of Studio Klimoski Chang Architects kept sustainability in mind when designing Head in the Clouds. The structure's armature will be made from 1.5" aluminum tubes that use less material and are easier to transport than more traditional materials such as wood. All the materials will be recyclable in an effort to limit the carbon footprint. Klimoski and Chang will work with schools and local organizations, including New York Road Runners and NYCRUNS, to collect the 53,780 milk jugs and water bottles needed to create Head in the Clouds. The jugs will be used to create 120 "pillows" that will give the cloud its bumpy, organic shape. The bottles, accentuated with organic food coloring and water, will create the interior's blue hue.
Head in the Clouds will offer visitors the chance to walk into the clouds, experiencing them from the inside out. Clouds are collections of water and movement that seem to form animals, people, and cities by dreamers gazing at the sky. With their 'heads in the clouds' sky gazers visualize fantastical shapes, ideas, and spaces. The City of Dreams Pavilion is a place dedicated to dreaming, and this year's winning project exemplifies this ideal. This project will create a venue where visitors can lose themselves in both the cloud-like structure, as well as the clouds in the sky around them.