THE ARMORY SHOW 2012
New York, NY
The Armory Show, considered New York City’s preeminent art fair, takes place on Piers 92 and 94 for 5 days every March. The show is divided between Modern Art on Pier 92 and Contemporary Art on Pier 94.
The design ambition for the 2012 fair was to reinvigorate the show by taking advantage of its location on the Manhattan piers and its unique position within the cultural life of New York City. The goal was to select fewer, more distinguished galleries and to combat the common complaint of ‘fair fatigue’ by making it more comfortable and easier to navigate.
Our design balanced the gallery spaces that make up the ‘fabric’ of the fair with public lounges that served as both a visual respite from the art and places where socializing and impromptu performances could occur. The introduction of social spaces into the fair humanized the experience and gave architectural focus to the otherwise uniform grid of booths. Using the metaphor of a city in developing the fair’s layout and design, we employed simple loops of circulation to make it easier to navigate the entire fair. Lounges, analogous to parks or town squares, served as social spaces around which galleries were organized, helping to increase the number of booths with premier locations. Landmark towers and bold colors were used to develop a strong graphic identity for the lounges and orient the visitor.
Street Seats, a furniture initiative featuring chairs recovered from the streets of New York - repaired and painted taxicab yellow - populate the cafes and social spaces.
PROJECT TEAM: Tim Bade, Jane Stageberg, Martin Cox, Jessica Rivera Bandler
Photo: Courtesy of MMPI
The Armory Show, considered New York City’s preeminent art fair, takes place on Piers 92 and 94 for 5 days every March. The show is divided between Modern Art on Pier 92 and Contemporary Art on Pier 94.
The design ambition for the 2012 fair was to reinvigorate the show by taking advantage of its location on the Manhattan piers and its unique position within the cultural life of New York City. The goal was to select fewer, more distinguished galleries and to combat the common complaint of ‘fair fatigue’ by making it more comfortable and easier to navigate.
Our design balanced the gallery spaces that make up the ‘fabric’ of the fair with public lounges that served as both a visual respite from the art and places where socializing and impromptu performances could occur. The introduction of social spaces into the fair humanized the experience and gave architectural focus to the otherwise uniform grid of booths. Using the metaphor of a city in developing the fair’s layout and design, we employed simple loops of circulation to make it easier to navigate the entire fair. Lounges, analogous to parks or town squares, served as social spaces around which galleries were organized, helping to increase the number of booths with premier locations.
Landmark towers and bold colors were used to develop a strong graphic identity for the lounges and orient the visitor.
Street Seats, a furniture initiative featuring chairs recovered from the streets of New York - repaired and painted taxicab yellow - populate the cafes and social spaces.
PROJECT TEAM: Tim Bade, Jane Stageberg, Martin Cox, Jessica Rivera Bandler
Photography by Andy Ryan
Photo: Courtesy of MMPI
2011 Analysis
2012 Redesign
Aerial Diagram
Street Seats by BSC
Bjork speaking with Ragnar Kjartansson at Open Forum
Opening Day