Social media architecture

The MoMa PS1 Young Architects Program has become systemically lost form its core mission becoming more of a platform for education about sustainable building practices than the facilitator for the music, architecture, and exhibition program.

Warm Up is MoMA PS1's critically acclaimed music series and has become one of NYC's most anticipated summer events. The series is housed within the architectural installation created by the winner of the annual Young Architects Program. Together, the music, architecture, and exhibition program provide a unique multi-sensory experience for music fans, artists, and families alike. MoMA PS1 Warm Up/Young Architects Program Mission Statement

“Alright. Sounds good,” I said to myself. Making the journey via bus to Queens, and walking into the sunshine of the MoMA/PS1 courtyard, I was pleasantly greeted by the silky sound of London house and techno maestro George FitzGerald playing in the distance. Of course I was also there to see the architectural installation "Hi-Fy" by The Living, so I headed straight over to wander/climb/sit inside of its curvaceous towers. I was excited. The Young Architects Program, now in its 15th edition, is such a unique opportunity to see world-class music inside of world-class architecture, arranged by some of the finest curators in the world. So what went wrong?

MoMA PS1 Warm Up/Young Architects Program, 2014

First of all, when I finally got inside the installation, it was not what I was expecting. I had read the catchy, sparkly-sounding information about the innovative, naturally-grown bricks that were being used. But what of the actual experience of this as physical, constructed architecture? The project really sits in the back like a spectator, not an actor. There is very little relationship with the party. The bricks cannot actually act as structure in this case, so a clunky wooden support system hangs awkwardly out of it. Most disturbingly, they had already started tearing down the bricks in order to compost the structure and show the composting process off. This made it hard to find shade, and also even wrap my head around what this thing was for. When I tried to eat some of the “edible” bricks, I was stopped by someone who had worked on the project.

I was ready for a “multi-sensory” experience, but I became confused. Why, when presented with a relatively simple, yet potentially exciting program of "music performance and party", does the installation literally block the music from my ears? Why, when I am in a good position to hear the music and see the stage, can I not see the installation? The Citi Tower looms over head, replacing Hi-fy in my personal skyline. The spaces of performance are disjointed in this installation, as the architecture is performing for a social media audience concerned with sustainable building materials, and the music is for the attendees. The actual users of the space, who are there for the event and unique opportunity to see architecture and performance truly mix, are cheated of the reward. It is a shame, as too often performance in architecture means reading Antonio Negri out loud, but YAP and Warm Up present a great opportunity for something far beyond that.

Why, when presented with a relatively simple, yet potentially exciting program of "music performance and party", does the installation literally block the music from my ears?

The functional misses pile up: shade is not maximized, and is further depleting as the bricks are taken down. There are really no good seats, and the water features – a liberal term – feel token. They are pretty much glorified kiddie pools. All of the social components have been neglected for an object that sits alienated from the context and program of Warm Up, while favoring the promotion of Ecovative's product – bricks grown from agricultural waste and mushroom mycelium. Why is this here? The history of house music (and by extension techno and eventually what we know as electronic dance music) is richly tied to architectural space. From clubs like Manchester's Hacienda or New York's Paradise Garage, to warehouses and lofts in Chicago, Berlin, or around London's M25 Orbital motorway, the physical surroundings of these performances play a huge role in either obscuring space and carving out a mental area to "lose oneself" in the music, or to enhance the music through some sort of sensorial intervention. Hi-Fy completely misses on all of these points. It stands alone and its eco-message would be just as loud from the Rockaways.

MoMA PS1 Warm Up/Young Architects Program, 2014

Hi-Fy really lacks any element of an agitating or inspiring design. There is nothing that hints at re-organizing spatial and social situations or altering or enhancing the perception of the events at Warm Up. Past winners have succeeded in this, for example, they have included moving water features such as 2103 winner CODA's Party Wall, with its fountains, misting station and series of pools. The large inhabitable wall sliced through the courtyard, asserting itself into the Warm Up action and offering refuse from the blistering summer heat. There have been interactive play elements, like SO-IL's balls in their 2010 winner Pole Dance, a field of experience that enveloped the crowd. in 2012, HWKN's Wendy was lit up and provided huge fans to cool off sweaty bodies. It had a similar object-like stance, but it didn't get lost behind the wall like Hi-Fy. Past entries have traversed the courtyard in interesting ways, engaging and instigating through boundaries, thresholds, spaces of recluse, gathering points, and unavoidable confrontation.

Even this year had at least two better options. Rooms: No Vacancy by Brooklyn-based Fake Industries Architectural Agonism and MAIO was the most explicitly built to facilitate partying, which is the main programmatic (design) goal of the installation. They devised a series of walls that framed rooms, each with a different relationship to the body and the acts of partying, whatever that might mean to you. This project realized a filmic sequence of simple spaces that use minimal intervention to create zones that give way to social interaction. It recalls Rem's Exodus, the Episodic pleasures of 1998's Percutaneous Delights by Gelatin, or perhaps Diller and Scofidio's early installation work, among others.

The missed opportunities are not simply a problem of this year's design. The Young Architects Program has become systemically lost form its core mission

LA-based Pita and Bloom had a less cerebral, and more pop-sensorial proposal, straight from the Disney-inspired ethos of Hollywood. They made a complex formal exercise into a series of extravagant planes with spectacular colors. Integrated benches and pools compliment the sprawling construction and would no doubt have been of interest to party-goers. As I watched Brooklyn's Aurora Halal perform a brilliant live set, I thought to myself, "Both FIAA's and P + B's proposals would have been much more fitting, albeit in different ways." Neither of the runners-up devolved into pure digital nonsense, however, which is refreshing. The music at Warm Up is so good, it deserves great architecture.

The missed opportunities are not simply a problem of this year's design. The Young Architects Program has become systemically lost form its core mission (stated at the beginning of this article). It has become more of a platform for education about sustainable building practices than facilitating “the music, architecture, and exhibition program provide a unique multi-sensory experience for music fans, artists, and families alike.” Something tells me this problem is more political than anything else. Curator of Contemporary Architecture Pedro Gadanho is too sharp and aware to be picking these projects based on merit alone. We may never be able to pin down exactly what forces are behind this. Board members who want to make MoMA look socially conscious? Leaders searching for institutional networking? If YAP must be a sustainable propaganda machine, move it to the Rockaways and have Confetti System do the whole installation for Warm Up. Don't devolve a once-proud and unique program into an impotent farce.

Social media architecture

The MoMa PS1 Young Architects Program has become systemically lost form its core mission becoming more of a platform for education about sustainable building practices than the facilitator for the music, architecture, and exhibition program.

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