18. Governors Island Welcomes a City of Dreams

City of Dreams on Governors Island, part of Figment.

This season, the Figment Project asked participating teams to consider the future of New York City, how design can be used to confront environmental challenges, and can architecture be built out of recycled or borrowed materials. The winning entry for the 2017 Figment City of Dreams pavilion competition on Governors Island is Cast & Place: City of Dreams Pavilion, made up of Team Aesop (Josh Draper, Lisa Ramsburg, Powell Draper, Edward Segal, and Max Down).

Cast & Place created a pavilion made entirely from waste using excavated dredge and fill,0,000 aluminum cans, and five tons of clay and recycled wood (the wood comes from an organization that turns wood from demolition sites and storm debris back into building materials). For the project, Cast & Place sourced a lot of aluminum from New York City, working with canners (the people who gather cans & bottles), schools and other sources. Dredged soil and fill were also the material used to make Governors Island. For the pavilion project, the dredge/soil was laid out to dry and crack in reclaimed wood molds. As a result, the team created light, but strong, panels that were then assembled into spaces. With this project, they hope to begin a conversation about rethinking our use of energy and resources. At the end of the summer, the pavilion will be disassembled and turned into benches and trellises.

While on Governors Island, stop by Nolan Park House 8A and visit the exhibit, Writing on it All, a writing project where participants are invited to pen their thoughts on the interior surfaces of an out-of-use house.