One of The Observer‘s favorite architects, SO-IL, shared some photos from one of our favorite architectural photographers, Iwan Baan. The flying Dutchman literally took off for Randall’s Island to snap some shots of SO-IL’s temporary pavilion on the island for Frieze. They are some of the slickest snaps we have seen (not counting our own!) especially the ones taken from a borrowed helicopter. Read More
Queens has been kind to the architects at SO-IL. The small Brooklyn-based firm is run by husband and wife Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu (the name stands for Solid Objective-Idenburg Liu, though any Beastie Boys referents are not lost on them).
Their first major success, not counting Mr. Idenburg’s time designing the New Museum for Japanese firm Sanaa, was P.S. 1’s Pole Dance pavilion two summers ago, arguably the best installation in the Young Architecture Program’s dozen years. This spring, another pavilion, this one for the Frieze Art Fair, will open on Randall’s Island (yes, technically part of Manhattan, but it certainly feels more like Queens with its big, open spaces and proximity to Astoria). And now, in their most ephemeral and ambitious effort yet, SO-IL is—very quietly—taking over Jackson Heights with the Guggenheim for four weekends starting tomorrow.
Welcome to Transhistoria, the latest installment in the Guggenheim’s stillspotting program.
“How can we look at cities without constantly begin accosted by them,” said David van der Leer, an assistant curator for architecture at the Guggenheim. Read More
While not quite Washington Square Park, Union Square has its fair share of oddballs, from skateboarders to arts vendors. Add to that a dozen sukkahs, which just arrived as part of the Sukkah City architecture competition. Typically a staid affair of canvas and corn husks to commemorate the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot, these Read More
