An architectural installation meant to clean the air to a degree equivalent to removing 260 cars from the road has won the final round of MoMA PS1’s Young Architects’ Program. HWKN, the office of Marc Kushner and Matthias Hollwich has been selected as the winning design in a competition to transform the courtyard of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. Congratulations!!

The New York-based architecture and design firm behind the proposal, HWKN, won the 13th Young Architects Program, which honors a young practice by inviting to design and build an outdoor installation in the courtyard of MoMA PS1.

The project,  called  Wendy, features a network of scaffolding apparatus on the site that resembles a three-dimensional blue star enclosing nylon fabric treated with a chemical spray with Titania nanoparticles that neutralizes airborne pollutants. This stretchy blue fabric is the first of its kind using a technology developed by British designer Helen Storey and scientist Tony Ryan, teaming up for  Catalytic Clothing.

The project is based on a simple idea: increase the amount of fabric on site and increase the air quality in the surrounding neighborhood. Marc Kushner and Matthias Hollwich estimate that Wendy’s good deeds will be equivalent to removing 260 cars from the road.

The New York Times quotes “It’s a really fun thing but it’s actually playing with brand new materials and technologies that are going to have more and more practical applications,” said Barry Bergdoll, the chief curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Bergdoll said it would also be great to look at. “It’s aesthetically unforgettable because it pops out of the courtyard and looks like this huge ornament,” he said. “It’s going to be amazing from the No. 7 train.”

A video about Catalytic Clothing, below.

LOCATION: New York, NY
CLIENT: MoMA PS1
SIZE: 5,000 sq ft
SCOPE: Ongoing
STATUS: Coming Summer 2012!
TEAM: Marc Kushner, Matthias Hollwich, Robert May, Adam Hostetler, Matthew Hoffman, Tim Aarsen, David Lee, Ryan Donaghy, Clare Reidy, Dwight Engel, Dongil Kim, Eunsun Park, Brett Wiemann, Andreas Kostopoulos, Andreas Tjeldflaat, Evan Litvin, Gregory Knobloch.

CONCEPT

Wendy does not play the typical architecture game of ecological apology - instead she is pro-active. . That is why Wendy is composed of nylon fabric treated with a ground breaking titania nanoparticle spray to neutralize airborne pollutants. During the summer of 2012 Wendy will clean the air to an equivalent of taking 260 cars off the road. Wendy’s boundary is defined by tools like shade, wind, rain, music, and visual identity to reach past the confines of physical limits. Wendy crafts an environment - not just a space. Spikey arms reach out with micro-programs like blasts of cool air, music, water canons and mists to create social zones throughout the courtyard.

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Hollwich Kushner is a leading architecture firm based in Lower Manhattan and winners of the prestigious MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program where we built Wendy. We have gone on to design projects at every scale: intimate to awe-inspiring, and everything in between. Hollwich Kushner creates forward-looking buildings that place people first. We are a new kind of architecture firm that believes in entrepreneurship — we founded Architizer.com and were named one the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

Study members

Marc Kushner, AIA, is an architect with just one agenda: he wants you to love architecture. As partner at Hollwich Kushner and co-founder and CEO of Architizer, Marc is a celebrated designer and pioneer in the digital media industry. Marc presents at events such as TED, PSFK, and GRID on topics surrounding architecture’s intersection with digital media. He is the 2017 Harvard Graduate School of Design Entrepreneur in Residence and has taught at Columbia University’s GSAPP. His book ‘The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings’ published by TED Books and Simon & Schuster in 2015 is #1 in Architecture on Amazon. Marc is the President of the Board of Friends of + POOL, a nonprofit behind the development of a water-filtering, floating swimming pool that will filter and clean urban rivers.

Matthias Hollwich, AIA, has established himself at the forefront of a new generation of groundbreaking international architects. Matthias believes the key to successful architecture lies in finding new and exciting ways to create dialogue and relationships between people and buildings. He was recently honored in Fast Company’s ranking of the world’s top 10 most innovative architects and in Business Insider’s list of top business visionaries. Matthias has spoken regularly at events such as TED and PICNIC and has taught architecture as a visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His work is regularly published in leading media outlets such as the New York Times, Wallpaper* and the Wall Street Journal and his second book on ‘New Aging’ was published by Penguin Books in 2016.

Jessica Knobloch-Arscott brings a diverse perspective to her projects at HWKN. Her extensive international design experience spanning from Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the US has provided her with myriad exploration and innovation opportunities. Jessica led all phases of design for Die Macherei, the studio's first built project in Germany, and explored innovative typologies during the R&D process for WeLive and with the Bushwick Generator, a new office complex in Brooklyn.

Robert May has been the Design Lead of HWKN for the past 12 years. He brings a keen eye for detail and a vast knowledge of design techniques to the firm. He helps teams strategize, plan, and fine-tune their approach across all typologies. Robert's tenure led him to spearhead the Purposeful Beings initiative, a retrospective analysis of HWKN's past work that was brought to life in the form of sculptures. He has led several HWKN projects including the Young Architecture Program's winning entry, Wendy, at MoMA PS1, Journal Squared, a three-tower, high-density transit-oriented development in New Jersey, and Pennovation, the innovation center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dorin Baul has been with HWKN for 5 years and oversees a team specializing in master-planning and cultural projects. His vision is evident throughout his various projects, where he designs with the user-experience foremost in mind. He led the Riyadh Art Master Plan in collaboration with UAP and Futurecity, fulfilling HWKN’s commission to spearhead and manage Riyadh's cultural urban activation through a consortium of artists, architects, and designers. He also led JAX 01, Saudi Arabia's first art biennale, and collaborated on multiple large scale office building designs.

Olga Snowden holds a vast array of experience spanning U.S. and international markets and has been with HWKN for 2 years. She brings strategic design skills, notably to a new office brand now rolling out nationally in Germany. She has led and participated in projects across a wide range of sectors, including mixed-use (super-tall), health care, education (elementary and special education schools), institutional (embassy), residential, office, and campus (pharmaceutical and corporate). Olga is a registered architect in the state of New York and a LEED- accredited professional. She is currently leading HWKN's in-house intergenerational living brand FLX in both Germany and the U.S.
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Published on: February 9, 2012
Cite: "Wendy, by HWKN, wins MoMA PS 1 Courtyard Competition" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/wendy-hwkn-wins-moma-ps-1-courtyard-competition> ISSN 1139-6415
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