Here’s a reason for New Yorkers to head to Times Square: there are sixteen installations to check out at DESIGN PAVILION, the hub of NYCxDESIGN, the annual city-wide celebration of design.  Stretching from 42nd Street to 47th Street across five plazas (kiosks will show maps to aid your journey), there is everything from an “ecocapsule,”, a tiny house, a carousel of creative chairs, to an iconic Eastern European bloc kiosk shown in the United States for the first time.

Read on to see more details about several of the installations:

1. CHAIRS THAT INSPIRE at CHAIROUSEL

From the students at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) 3D Design & Interior Design departments comes CHAIROUSEL, a series of creative chairs displayed atop a refurbished 1960s carousel. CHAIRS THAT INSPIRE include a mini rocket, a delectable ice cream, a furry friend, and a 26-foot tall chair atop the carousel.

2. ECOCAPSULE

The ECOCAPSULE is a mini sustainable home powered by solar and wind energy, and collects rainwater. The off-the-grid pod is intended for 1-2 people who live or utilize it in the medium-term. The first generation ECOCAPSULEs are retailing for 79,000 Euros, but the company, based in Slovakia, expects those costs to go down as production increases. Founder Tomas Zacek, who will be on site today at 5 PM for the official launch of ECOCAPSULE.

3. FMS TINY HOUSE

Surrounded by pleasant plantings and trees by Brook Landscape, TINY HOUSE by Brooklyn-based FM/S (Fernado Mastrangelo Studio) is an immersive sensory and interactive sculpture made of reclaimed materials. It’s intended to re-contextualize the future of living, “a space where the future of living can be experienced IRL.”

4. New Street Furniture by Joe Ducet

The Village, a series of bird cage like seating, by Joe Doucet that was shown first at DESIGN PAVILION 2018 is back, with some refinements. Doucet has also designed a new bench/traffic barrier called Rely that can absorb impact and stop a vehicle. When not used as a traffic barrier, it can be used as seating – with a design sensibility.

5. TITLE WAVE at the STRAND Bookstore Kiosk

The Strand Bookstore kiosk is not a new addition to Times Square for NYCxDESIGN but the clever bench and bookcase just alongside it is from last year’s festival, designed by Hive Public Space and a product of the TSQ Design Lab. This year, new urban seating and furniture will be displayed as part of a new competition for a public-space furniture. Look at for the solstreet solar bench that allows for mobile charging and digital displays. These pieces of furniture were also getting a lot of public attention:

6. FutureHAUS

Virginia Tech School of Architecture’s FutureHAUS on first prize for world’s best solar home from The U.S. Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon 2018, the only American team to win. The house is solar powered with smart devices like auto sliding doors, smart mirrors, & a sink that pours exact water amount.

DESIGN PAVILION will also have a flurry of programming like design workshops, DESIGN TALKS NYC ^TM , a program of featuring design thought-leaders who will discuss the role and impact of design in the enhancement and improvement of our future and a DESIGN MARKET NYC^TM. On Thursday, May 16th, Untapped Cities will be partnering with The Design Trust for Public Space for the unveiling of the new El-Space, a reimagining of a space below an elevated highway in Long Island City, and a panel discussion. Don’t miss the rest of NYCxDESIGN either, you can check out the schedule here.

7. HURRAH!

Photo by C Weronika Kwiatkowska, courtesy Polish Cultural Institute New York

“Hurrah!”, is a collaborative, interactive project consisting of large-scale vertical tubes that form a public installation – a xylophone for visitors to interact with. The project is the product of a partnership between the Polish Cultural Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C. In homage to the celebratory atmosphere of this collaborative effort, the public installation will play well-known Polish birthday and anniversary song, “Sto Lat”.

Next, check out the Top 10 Secrets of Times Square.