Happy on Flatiron North Public Plaza, NY, Manhattan Architectural Installation Images

Happy on Flatiron North Public Plaza

175 Fifth Avenue – Architectural Installation in NYC design by Studio Cadena, USA

Nov 21, 2018

Happy on Flatiron North Public Plaza, New York

Design: Studio Cadena

Location: Flatiron North Public Plaza, E 23rd St, Manhattan, New York, USA

Happy by Studio Cadena is Selected as Winner of the Annual Flatiron Public Plaza Design Competition in New York City

Studio Cadena’s site-specific installation Happy, the winner of the fifth annual Flatiron Public Plaza Design Competition hosted by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) and Van Alen Institute, has opened to the public. Happy is the centerpiece of the annual program and a highly visible landmark in this thriving New York City neighborhood.

“We all wish each other happiness during the holidays. This installation physically manifests this well wishing to all who visit Flatiron,” says Benjamin Cadena, Founder and Principal of Studio Cadena. “In our otherwise bleak social and political context, it aspires to carve a small and more positive space in the city—it offers a warm embrace during the cold winter months.”

Happy features 23 softly shaped transparent vinyl screens that drape down from an open frame to inscribe an intimate collective space within. Its rich colored surface projects a highly visible and memorable figure from a distance, and up close, filters views inside and out by infusing the surrounding context in a rich saturated glow. Gently swaying in the breeze, it shimmers and reflects while it casts long colored shadows in the low light of late fall and early winter. Happy is a simple device to make you stop, wonder, and most importantly, smile.

Studio Cadena’s design was selected from among nine proposals by firms including Agency—Agency; Brandt : Haferd; MODU; N H M D; Office III; P.R.O. and Wolfgand & Hite.

Happy will be on view from November 19, 2018 through January 1, 2019 at the Flatiron North Public Plaza, located at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street.

Studio Cadena is an award-winning design and architecture studio interested in engaging contemporary life, the city and its people – in designing new and captivating spaces, places and experiences for those who use them. The studio is young, yet combines substantial experience in the US and abroad, ranging from high-level strategic planning for cities, to cultural, commercial, residential and civic projects – museums, libraries, private homes, interiors, exhibitions and furniture.

Founded by Benjamin Cadena and based in Brooklyn and Bogotá, the studio was selected in 2016 by the American Institute of Architects for its biennial New Practices NY Award.

Benjamin Cadena an is architect and founder of Studio Cadena. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Benjamin holds a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and Master of Architecture from the same institution. Before founding the studio, he worked at Rice+Lipka Architects, Stan Allen Architect, WORKac and Atelier Bow-Wow in New York and Tokyo.

He teaches architecture design studios at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and has previously taught and been an invited critic at numerous institutions. He serves as co-chair of the AIA New Practices Committee in New York, is a Fellow of the Urban Design Forum and the recipient of the 2016 AIA New York New Practices biennial award.

The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the area’s reputation as one of New York’s most vital and exciting neighborhoods. This is accomplished by maintaining a clean and safe environment for the district’s businesses, residents and visitors; by spearheading area improvement projects; and by marketing the diverse business and retail options in this vibrant and historic neighborhood.

Van Alen Institute believes design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives. They collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow. Building on more than a century of experience, they develop cross-disciplinary research, provocative public programs, and inventive design competitions.

The Greenwich Street Loft in Tribeca, NYC – Design Information

Design: Studio Cadena
Lead designer: Benjamin Cadena / Studio Cadena Structural engineer: Silman Fabrication and installation: YOUNGBUK Art Services, LLC.