BWY – ‘HEIGHTENED REFLECTION’ BOWERY STREET TENTS
Street fairs offer up an astonishing diversity of wares, food and entertainment. Less engaging are the ubiquitous tents that spring up like mushrooms. They discreetly (and economically) get the job done, but offer little in the way of spaces that captivate the imagination. The souk, the bazaar, the seaside New England tourist booth, the Coney Island stand – all herald the inexpensive thrill.
In the distance, Heightened Reflection emerges from a sea of white and anonymous tents, in which visitors engage in typical street fair browsing. The project builds on the squat geometries of the tents, but pulls them skyward, creating sweeping interior volumes and dramatic exterior facades that mirror the urban scene around it. Merchants conduct their business adjacent to unique, colorful and soaring cloth ceilings. Customers, who are still able to browse and buy, can also engage with a variety of interior installations: in one, saturated red walls lead to a clerestory; in another, a periscope yields views far down the street. In one scenario a disco ball lazily spins, casting a thousand reflections, and in another Chinese lanterns swarm toward the sky.
The profound interior environments allow the participants a moment of intimacy and a place of personal reflection within the vibrant collective experience that is amplified by the exterior mylar skin.
