RECYCLED HANGERS AS ART?

Called Hanger Barn, the temporary structure is due to be installed this summer on Governors Island, which is located 730m from the southern tip of Manhattan.

The scheme by Folio – a young firm started by designers Youngsu Lee and Bosuk Hur – beat 100 entrants in the 2016 edition of the City of Dreams Pavilion competition.

Now in its sixth year, the contest invites emerging studios to conceive an eco-friendly installation for the island, which opened to the public in 2004 after nearly two centuries of use as a military base.

Winners are chosen by a jury composed of New York architects, designers and engineers.

Folio's design features two arched enclosures made of triangular hangers that are linked together with zip ties. The hangers would come from New York dry cleaners and other local sources, according to the firm.

"Folio's proposal for the Hanger Barn turns recycled clothes hangers into a pavilion using modular design techniques," said competition organisers.

"It also creates the illusion of motion due to the placement of the hangers in fractal patterns, which create shadow effects on the ground below that change with the movement of the sun."

Once the structure is disassembled, the materials are intended to be reused.

The proposal still needs to acquire necessary building permits, and the organisers are still raising money for its construction.

The City of Dreams Pavilion competition is hosted by four organisations: the Emerging New York Architects Committee, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Structural Engineers Association of New York, and the non-profit arts group Figment.

"The City of Dreams Pavilion, so named for its focus on the future of a world that faces strains on both economic and natural resources, aims to promote sustainability-oriented thinking amidst the architecture and design communities," said the organisers.

"The competition requires designers to consider the environmental impact of their designs in everything from materials sourcing to disposal (or ideally reuse) of waste at the end of the season".