Pole Dance and balls

MoMA/PS1 announced yesterday that Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu (SO-IL) won the 2010 Young Architects Program to build the installation in the PS1 courtyard this summer. It is interesting because everybody assumed BIG would get this since their name stands out by so much that it seemed almost automatic. Funny enough, rumors indicated BIG as the winner some days ago, referring to Bjarke Ingels's facebook status.

No offense to SO-IL, I think this win is inspiring because it shows us a "big" name doesn't mean as much as we thought. Less known architects still have a chance to shine. I haven't seen BIG's entry. But judging from the limited resources online, SO-IL's proposal seems to be quite ingenious.

1. It's a field, not an object that you just walk around and look at.
2. It's interactive. You participate, and the actual form of the moment reflects the relationship between the structure and its users.
3. The contrast between a rigid grid and the dynamic swaying structure is interesting.
4. Obviously low budget and yet it provides a strong sense of place.
5. The notion of shading is addressed by a mutable (almost unpredictable) device - rolling balls.
6. It's FUN!

Link to the video - fun to watch.

Congrats to Florian, Ilias, and Iannis! Can't wait to see it in June!