15. Salvage Swings Pavilion

Photograph by James Lengs, Courtesy of FIGMENT NYC

Another installation that will be unveiled at FigmentNYC is the Salvage Swing Pavilion created by Somewhere Studio. The Salvage Swing Pavilion was the winner of FIGMENT’s annual City of Dream Pavilion Competition, a contest challenges designers to consider the environmental impact of their designs and aims to promote sustainability-oriented thinking in the architecture and design communities. Unlike most of the FIGMENT installations which will only be up for the weekend, this pavilion will remain through August.

Salvage Swings is made up of scrap cross-laminated timber panels salvaged from an ongoing construction project at the University of Arkansas. There are twelve swing modules that frame the swinger and the swinger’s view. All of the modules are identical in size but vary with different painted patterns, hatches and windows. Not letting any material go to waste, the wood cut out for windows is used to make the swing seats. At Roosevelt Island, the modules are organized in a triangular form which enable community swinging, creates a covered seating area and a interrupted visual field (great for hide-and-seek games), and a large central space which can be used to host community events. The modular design allows for the swings to be easily separated following the summer installation so they may be relocated to parks and schools across New York City as individual swings.