Tuesday, July 28, 2009

MOMA/PS1 Young Architects Program: AFTERPARTY BY MOS



On my first visit to the Museum of Modern Art/P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens recently, what I found most striking was the "urban shelter" called AFTERPARTY designed by the architectural firm MOS. This urban landscape is this year's winner of the MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program. Afterparty is installed in the museum/art center's outdoor courtyard, and serves as an immersive environment for the 2009 Warm Up summer music series. The MOMA/P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is located at 22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave in Long Island City.
From the MOMA/PS1 website:
Envisioned as an "urban shelter," Afterparty will serve as a cooling escape at the heart of P.S.1's Warm Up music series. Before visitors enter the courtyard, a series of tall hut-like "chimneys" with dark thatched skin will be visible from the street. The interior of the conical shelter will provide shade, similar to a Bedouin tent in which the dark textile creates its own microclimate shielding from the summer heat. Cool air from the thermal mass of the courtyard's shaded concrete walls and concrete water troughs located in the center of the structure will be drawn up through a series of cooling chimneys by induction. This will create a breeze and a "cool down" atmosphere for the active Warm Up crowd.

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