Coming to P.S. 1: Cones, Domes and Huts@Arch

Ms. Sample and Mr. Meredith described their installation as “a temporary urban shelter and passive cooling station” for the events at the Warm Up summer program at P.S. 1, which includes concerts and outdoor dancing. Air cooled by the courtyard’s existing shaded concrete walls and concrete water troughs will be drawn up through the chimneys by induction, they said, creating a breeze. The courtyard installation is to open to the public in late June.

Photo: MOS

The architects, who founded their own firm, MOS, in 2003, were inspired in part by the architect Louis Kahn, who “could go between high tech and very primitive,” Mr. Meredith said. Ms. Sample said the thatching was added with the textile artist Anni Albers in mind.

Photo: MOS

To some extent the design is an attempt to break free of the courtyard’s boundaries, to reach out into the surrounding area and diversify the landscape. “One of the problems with the courtyard is it’s almost hermetic,” Mr. Meredith said. “How do you create variable scales of space?”

Photo: MOS

The cones, towering over the courtyard walls, will be visible from afar and change the local topography. “It’s kind of a neighborhood landmark,” Mr. Bergdoll said. “You’ll be able to see it from the subway and from the Long Island Expressway."

Photo: MOS

Mr. Meredith and Ms. Sample suggest that the economic downturn will demand a return to essentials. “It’s not going to be about the exuberant, gestural form,” Mr. Meredith said. “It’s going to be about a more modest and thoughtful architecture.”

Photo: MOS

@VIA: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/28/arts/design/20090128-moma-slideshow_index.html