MOSSGROVE: A Design Pavilion Made of Moss in Times Square

 Mossgrove is a proposal for an architectural pavilion to be built in Times Square during NYCxDESIGN from May 12-20, 2018. It highlights the possibilities of two under-appreciated urban elements: scaffolding and moss. Individually, scaffolding and moss are both considered nuisances or visually unappealing. Together, they form a bio-mechanical partnership that challenges us to view the most ordinary materials as having extraordinary potential. 

 The closeness of the posts creates intimate spaces within the pavilion, great for performance or casual gatherings. 

 

The various parts that make up the pavilion

 THE PROJECTMossgrove is a proposal for an architectural pavilion to be built in Times Square during NYCxDESIGN from May 12-20, 2018. It highlights the possibilities of two under-appreciated urban elements: scaffolding and moss. Individually, scaffolding and moss are both considered nuisances or visually unappealing. Together, they form a bio-mechanical partnership that challenges us to view the most ordinary materials as having extraordinary potential.Full project description below:Scaffolding has an outsized presence in NYC, creating a network of informal porticos between the buildings it covers and the street. Cast as an aesthetic and spatial nuisance, the ubiquity of scaffolding and the informal passages it creates present an opportunity to expand its role beyond the construction industry and assert itself as a framework for informal social gatherings. Easily missed but equally widespread, moss occupies a different scale of ambiguous urbanity- the caulking in between sidewalk flags, the stucco wall that stays wet after a storm, or the neglected corner of a window sill. These tiny sparks of green within the vast grays and browns of New York belie the intelligence of a biologically advanced organism that has remained essentially unchanged for millions of years. Spatially, moss is a formal chameleon, fuzzing the edges of objects it coats but never staking a position of its own. By granting moss a formal agency and the visual high ground, traditional assumptions of technical and aesthetic qualities can be upended.Mossgrove seeks to highlight these spatial misfits of the urban architectural theater by elevating their formal and programmatic agency, placing them at the forefront of the 2018 Design Pavilion NYC.Thank you in advance to all of our backers, and we'll see you NYCxDESIGN May 12-20, 2018!THE TEAMSam Biroscak is a designer based in New York City. He was a finalist for the Figment 2018 City of Dreams Pavilion and was on a finalist team for the Flint Flatlot Competition in 2013. He has an M.Arch from Rice University and currently works for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).Gina Dyches works in the development and events department at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). A classically-trained violinist, Gina is well-versed in fundraising, logistics, and production coordination.Stephanie Borchers, SE graduated from MIT with a Masters in High Performance Structures and from the Cooper Union with a B.Eng. She belongs to the Society of Women Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. She is currently employed at Forell/Elsesser Engineers.Special thanks to Annick Lang and Anneli Rice for their extensive efforts on moss research and pavilion construction during the competition submittal in 2017 and to Sam Warga, Sam Lazarus, and Kevin Doherty for their contributions to the video.

Risks and challenges

There are always risks associated with building projects, but our chief concern is visitor safety and accessibility. We're working hand in hand with fabricators and engineers to ensure that all elements can withstand the intense foot traffic in Times Square regardless of weather conditions and that anyone can enjoy the pavilion, regardless of ability.