SO-IL: Frieze New York Pavilion

The Brooklyn-based architecture studio will design the structure housing Frieze's first New York fair.

Frieze has just unveiled details of the pavilion that will house its first New York fair. The snake-shaped structure will be designed by Brooklyn-based SO–IL architects. The design takes into account the fair's location in Randall's Island, facing the East River.

For SO-IL's Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, "the first challenge was to establish the structure as an icon, beyond being a very large tent. With the ambition to relax and open up what would otherwise be a rigorous system, we devised a slightly mutated pie-shaped tent section, using "wedges" which we inserted into the structure at five locations. From the outside, they allow us to bend the otherwise straight tent into a meandering, supple, shape."

Frieze New York will benefit from the same architectural approach that has made Frieze Art Fair in London one of the world's leading art fairs. Since its founding in 2003, the design of the temporary space has been a unique characteristic of the fair, employing a series of internationally recognized architectural firms. For Frieze's Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, SO-IL's "inventive approach" was appealing. "Having worked with a series of architects in London, we have a reputation for commissioning forward thinking design, and we wanted to bring a similar approach to our first New York fair," they remarked. "SO–IL's designs for Frieze New York are a solution that demonstrates a thorough understanding of how the fair works at the same time as being a structure that promises to genuinely excite."
SO-IL, <em>Frieze New York Pavillion</em>, interior
SO-IL, Frieze New York Pavillion, interior
The fair will take place 4 to 7 May 2012, presenting a selection of works from 170 of the world's leading contemporary art galleries. "New York in May is one of the brightest cities we know of," said SO-IL's Idenburg and Liu. "We hope that the Frieze tent makes this island riverfront alive and vice versa in this luminous moment."
SO-IL, <em>Frieze New York Pavillion</em>, aerial view
SO-IL, Frieze New York Pavillion, aerial view

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