Design Pavilion, the centralized public hub for NYCxDESIGN celebration, today announces an expansive and eclectic program of engaging design installations, talks, performances and more that will take place in Times Square through the duration of New York’s design week (May 10-22, 2019). In partnership with the Times Square Alliance, Design Pavilion will activate five plazas in the radically transformed Times Square with immersive environments and daily programs featuring the work of leading architects, designers, and artists.
“We’re passionate about the power of design and we want the world to know,” said Ilene Shaw, Founding Producer of Design Pavilion. “In its 4th year, Design Pavilion is expanding the design industries’ reach to mass audiences, including the public and business sectors. We have set out to increase awareness and engagement in all the design-disciplines, and to strengthen understanding of how design affects our daily lives and is shaping the future. In partnership with the ever-evolving Times Square, and with the support and reach of Nasdaq, Design Pavilion has become an influential and unique event in celebration of NYCxDESIGN.”
“For the third year in a row, Times Square has continued an ongoing commitment to nurturing innovative design by hosting Design Pavilion as the hub of NYCxDESIGN and celebrating new ideas in public space design through Design Lab, highlighting Times Square as a center for creativity,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance.
Through Design Pavilion, the worlds of sustainability, technology, luxury and media will merge and come to life as a highly curated line-up of installations, exhibits and performances. 2019 program highlights include:
- NOKIA BELL LABS’ Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) program will present two collaborations that humanize technology by fusing the best of art and technology. We present music from the two groundbreaking performances augmented by Nokia Bell Labs technology. One by international beatboxer Reeps One demonstrating the creative potential of Artificial Intelligence. and another by International Contemporary Ensemble and E.A.T. artist-in-residence Lainie Fefferman playing the music of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir using E.A.T. technology transforming cell phones in an audience into a loudspeaker.
- AZIMUT|BENETTI GROUP, the world’s largest megayacht manufacturing group celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will station a 60ft long yacht in the heart of Times Square. Designed by Stefano Righini and Francesco Guida for Azimut Yachts, the Azimut S6 model represents a design icon and reflects the company’s strong commitment toward disruptive design and technological innovation in the yachting industry. On-site activations will include public education activities in partnership with One Ocean Foundation for groups of grades K-12 students with the support of a video illustrating the future of marine life and the everyday actions involved in its safeguard. As the largest private yachting company worldwide, Azimut|Benetti Group depicts architecture and design in the world of yachting, and is also a leader in exploring sustainability in the industry by researching new technology and introducing more efficient systems on the water.
- TIMES SQUARE DESIGN LAB (TSqDL), a project committed to creating innovative public space solutions (developed for the Times Square Alliance by 6¢ Design), will debut Rely, a new urban outdoor bench system by Joe Doucet in partnership with Urba-Style and Concrenetics, worldwide leaders in the emerging technology of concrete 3D printing. Also presented by TSqDL will be K67, an iconic Yugoslavian kiosk originally designed in 1967 by Saša J. Mächtig, new benches that provide storage designed and customized by Norwegian firm Vestre, and commercial versions of Island Collection by Brad Ascalon from Landscape Forms.
- VIRGINIA TECH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, the lone American team to earn a first-place victory at The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, will feature FutureHAUS, the world’s best solar home that was brought to life through a university-wide effort that combined research by over 100 Virginia Tech students and faculty. On a 2,900 square foot area, the solar powered home is equipped with 67 devices, including touch screen control panels, automatic sliding doors, smart mirrors and more.
- PRATT INSTITUTE, the Polish Cultural Institute, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. present Project Hurrah!, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and the United States. An urban musical instrument created to play and interact with, Project Hurrah! aims to capture and commemorate positive emotions that connect Poles and Americans through music.
- FERNANDO MASTRANGELO STUDIO will reimagine the way we live through an interactive and sensory immersive Tiny House sculpture. Tiny House will utilize reclaimed materials within a 176 square foot footprint to create a fantastical living space that recontextualizes the way second hand materials are used and experienced and displays the transition between functional design and creative design. The house, which will host multiple talks throughout the festival, will have a dynamic LED wall emulating colors of New York sunrises and sunsets and scents and humidity in the garden.
- NASDAQ, in partnership with Arts Thread, will unveil the winner of a competition calling for artists to create a piece of artwork that embodies Nasdaq’s brand essence of Relentless Possibility. The winning piece will be featured at Design Pavilion’s Design Talks IMPACT SUMMIT on May 13, displayed on Nasdaq’s brand new 10th floor event space, used daily by thousands of leading companies around the world for their marquee events.
- SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS will debut The Chairousel, an exhibition designed by the students of the School of Visual Arts’ 3D Design and Interior Design departments that brings together an array of sculptural chairs that inspire them, on a refurbished 1960s carousel.
- AMERICAN DESIGN CLUB, a platform for designers to show, share and sell their work, will present Sound + Vision, an exhibition that celebrates the collision of the design, technology and sounds shaping the future. Following an open call for submissions, Sound + Vision will take form as a curated product exhibition, performances, and environmental experience installation that engage the public.
Additional partners and exhibitors include Solstreet, a solar-powered charging bench that connects users to their surrounding community in real time using an interactive bulletin board, and Rosolino Ferrante Ltd., a Brooklyn-based design studio who designed and supplied the landscape on which the Ecocapsuleinstallation, a solar and wind powered mobile living pod, sits at Design Pavilion. Circus Family designed animations for the Superior Digital Displays at the north and south gateways of Times Square.
“It was interesting to watch themes evolve into a focused exploration of sustainability, shelters in many forms, and music!” said Harry Allen, Creative Director of Design Pavilion. “Design Pavilion is developing into the event we originally imagined – a series of great design installations augmented by musical performances and a vital talk series.”
In addition to the aforementioned exhibits, Design Pavilion will once again feature Design Talks NYC, a fascinating and culturally relevant conversation and story series featuring architecture, design, art and civic visionaries and creative leaders. The schedule of talks and their corresponding panelists and moderators will be announced soon. For Design Talks NYC updates, visit designtalksnyc.com.
Design Pavilion is located in Times Square (from West 42nd to West 47th Streets between Broadway and 7th Avenue) and will take place between May 10-22, 2019 from 11am – 9pm daily. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit design-pavilion.com or follow along on Instagram at@design_pavilion and via #DesignPavilionNYC.
ABOUT DESIGN PAVILION
Design Pavilion is an annual public design and cultural happening that is free and open to all. Founded and Produced by Ilene Shaw and Shaw & Co. Productions, with Creative Design by Harry Allen Design, Design Pavilion is located in Times Square and serves as the public hub for NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s annual celebration of international design. Design Pavilion aims to engage more than 5 million visitors in ideas about design and our future by emerging designers, architects, brands and visionaries from around the world via curated installations, performances and a series of Design Talks .
ABOUT TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square — cultivating the creativity, energy and edge that have made the area an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life for over a century. The Alliance provides core neighborhood services with its Public Safety Officers and Sanitation Associates, encourages economic development, co-coordinates major events such as New Year’s Eve and Solstice in Times Square, presents public art via Times Square Arts, and advocates on behalf of its constituents. www.TSq.org
