Archinect - News

New York State Pavilion's observation towers will soon shine in restored glory

2019-09-11T14:56:00-04:00

[...] the restoration on the observation towers of the New York State Pavilion is beginning soon. A project update on the Parks’ capital project tracker states that there is an estimated start date of September 2019, and that a date has been set for construction to begin, an update first noticed by the People for the Pavilion.

Untapped Cities reports that the restoration work of the three New York State Pavilion observation towers, designed by Philip Johnson, Richard Foster and structural engineer Lev Zetlin for the 1964 World’s Fair, will include "reconstruction of the stairways, replace deteriorated suspension cables at all the platform levels, repair deteriorated concrete, restore the floor finish on the plaza level, partial restoration of the historical lighting design, replace and repair electrical and drainage infrastructure."

A glimpse of the winning New York State Pavilion revival ideas

2016-08-08T17:06:00-04:00

Architects and non-architects alike sent their boldest ideas on how they would revive the Philip Johnson-designed [New York State Pavilion] into a contemporary public space. From a burger museum to a Metro station to variations of botanical gardens, after reviewing over 250 submissions the jury awarded the coveted first prize to “Hanging Meadows” by Aidan Doyle and Sarah Wan of Seattle.

The results are out for the New York State Pavilion Ideas Competition! As expected, the open ideas competition attracted an interesting mix of submissions envisioning how the New York World's Fair icon should be repurposed. Here's a glimpse of the top three prize winners.

1ST PLACE: Hanging Meadows by Aidan Doyle and Sarah Wan, Seattle, WA

2ND PLACE: Civic Hub by Javier Salinas, New York, NY

3RD PLACE: Pavilion for the Community by Rishi Kejrewal and Shaurya Sharma, Bhopal, India

Find out more on Bustler.

Previously: Another chance at re-envisioning Philip Johnson's “Tent of Tomorrow”

Another chance at re-envisioning Philip Johnson's “Tent of Tomorrow”

2016-07-06T14:59:00-04:00

The question still holds: What does the future entail for Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion? Following the 1964-65 World's Fair, the elliptical “Tent of Tomorrow” lived shortly as a concert venue and a roller-skating rink before it eventually slipped into abandonment. But, the aging landmark has another chance at finding a shiny new purpose in the New York State Pavilion Ideas Competition.

Among recent efforts to preserve the landmark, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the People for the Pavilion co-launched the competition asking architects (and non-architects) how the pavilion can be revived into a contemporary public space. Before the winning ideas are revealed in August, the public can vote now for the Fan Favorite until July 15.

As these open idea competitions tend to show all too exhaustingly often, the possibilities are seemingly endless. The 250 submissions include a brewery, a Metro station, a Glass House reference, drone arenas, botanical gardens, and...

Philip Johnson's Tent of Tomorrow still stands, but what should happen to it?

2015-05-26T14:13:00-04:00

During the [1964-65 World's Fair], the elliptical Tent of Tomorrow was used as a versatile performance space...But not much has been done to preserve the structure since the fair ended in 1965...At the moment, there are no formal proposals, and ['Modern Ruin' film director Matthew Silva] admits it’ll be hard to raise funds without one. But he hopes the film, as well as his advocacy group, will get people thinking about what can be done.

The NY Mets Are Trying to Save the 'Tent of Tomorrow'

Vandals break into the historic New York State Pavilion and set fire to a stolen van, damaging the 50-year-old terrazzo map

"Modern Ruin" documents the rise, fall, and revival efforts of historic New York State Pavilion

Kickstart this! Archinect's Kickstarter picks for May 2014

"Modern Ruin" documents the rise, fall, and revival efforts of historic New York State Pavilion

2014-02-11T13:34:00-05:00

So continues the battle of saving neglected pavilions from their ultimate fate of destruction. MODERN RUIN: A World's Fair Pavilion by filmmaker and film educator Matthew Silva tells the eventful tale of Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion in the last 50 years.

The film starts with the pavilion's debut during the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, to its post-fair use in the '60s-'70s as a concert venue and roller-skating rink, followed by its gradual demise since then -- including efforts in recent years for the structure's preservation.

Silva set up a Kickstarter to gain support for post-production of the film's final cut. At this point, the fund already surpassed its initial goal of $10,000 and now has 12 days left to reach its stretch goal of $30,000. The extra money will give Silva access to more archival material on the pavilion and will let him collaborate with other professional filmmakers to improve the film's production quality.

Featuring interviews from nearly two dozen ind...