Expecting over Four Million Attendees, the Interactive “Public Hub for All Things Design”
Will Return to Times Square with a New Visual Identity, Interactive Installations
and a Roster of Progressive Speakers Highlighting the Future
Design Pavilion is the largest public event of NYCxDESIGN attracting millions of visitors. From May 12-20, design lovers of all ages will head to Times Square for design-inspired conversations, engaging installations, pop-ups, design markets and more during the fifth edition of the Design Pavilion. Founded and produced by Ilene Shaw, Shaw + Co Productions, in partnership with the Times Square Alliance, the nine-day event will make Broadway between West 43rd and West 48th Streets its home. As New York’s biggest public design interface, it will bring immersive activations from around the world across five plazas in Times Square.
“For its fifth iteration, the Design Pavilion will continue its impassioned mission to increase awareness and understanding of the built environment through showcasing design ideas about our future by world-renowned and emerging designers and architects.” said Design Pavilion Founder and Producer, Ilene Shaw, of Shaw + Co. Productions. “Design Pavilion has grown from a grassroots, public installation first held in the creative and academic community of Greenwich Village at Astor Place in 2016 to the largest public design happening in one of the most highly trafficked and photographed crossroads in the world: the revitalized and vibrant plazas of Times Square.”
In just five years it has exponentially grown from 25,000 visitors to close to five million and expects 400,000 visitors daily in 2020 from New York and around the globe. Admission is free and the pavilion is open to all who pass by, encouraging exploration and curiosity about design in so many fresh and innovative forms.
One exemplary activation highlight for this year is an installation from CLB Architects titled FILTER. This chapel-like structure—which will consist of a tree encased in 24-ft steel totems—will serve as a quiet, meditative space to evoke environmentally and design-driven contemplation within the hustle and bustle of Times Square. The Times Square Design Lab, a project of the Times Square Alliance, will be continuing its leadership and innovation in public space furniture. They will be announcing a new project for designers to engage with the public and the unique demands of America’s most vibrant and challenging public space, and will also be showing off other new furnishing ideas. New this year, the Design Pavilion will also feature a new graphic identity designed by Brooklyn-based creative studio Maiarelli Studio and release its first ever Design Pavilion Guide.
The Design Talks NYC series will also return this year for its sixth edition, May 13-15, featuring stimulating conversations with some of the design industry’s leading minds around timely and relevant issues that center around sustainability and the future of our cities. Speakers include: industrial designer Karim Rashid; global real estate developer John Hardy; architect and socio-ecological designer Mitchell Joachim (Terreform ONE & Terrefuge); and artist, designer and inventor Dror Benshetrit. The 2020 series will cover a wide range of timely and culturally significant topics, with ideas running the gamut from innovation in urban design, a new decade in hospitality, the breaking of gender boundaries in the design world, resilience and climate change preparedness, the newest technologies, and more.
“Design Pavilion will for the fourth year make Times Square an accessible and equitable educational and innovative hub for all things design,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. “By being at this global crossroads, design talent from not only New York but also the world will be experienced by hundreds of thousands of people daily. That means unparalleled access by designers to those beyond the design industry itself, allowing the larger public to learn about and experience the great impact design has — and will have — on all of our daily lives.”
The Design Pavilion is accepting proposals from insightful thinkers, thought leaders, and experts across all design disciplines for its curated Design Talks program. Interested speakers should submit the talk format, title and description to ilene.shaw@design-pavilion.com by February 7. Brands, institutions, and design studios are encouraged to reach out to Ilene Shaw with ideas for interactive installations, educational showcases, dynamic performances, or retail pop-ups that will engage the public and generate informative yet memorable experiences.
“Design Pavilion is an exciting and original exhibition format where design meets experience,” adds Design Pavilion Creative Director Harry Allen, Harry Allen Design. “Every year it has grown and matured, and the caliber and creativity of proposals for Design Pavilion 2020 is staggering.”
A full lineup of activations, installations and programming will be announced in the spring.
SPONSORS
The Design Pavilion is grateful for the support of its media sponsors: DDN, Interior Furniture Design Magazine (IFDM), Cultured, and No.3 Magazine. The FILTER installation, designed by CLB Architects, is sponsored by EMIT, Spearhead and Dowbuilt.
ABOUT DESIGN PAVILION
Founded and Produced by Ilene Shaw and Shaw + Co. Productions
Shaw + Co. Productions is an established, creator and producer of highly visible marketing and promotional platforms – commercial and not-for-profit – representing design and designers. Innovators in the fields of design and functional art, they conceive of and develop inspired marketing strategies for both trade and public awareness. Their productions include public, trade and corporate events, curated exhibitions, seminars and conferences, award and educational programs. Ms. Shaw is a long-standing member of the NYCxDESIGN Steering Committee.
ShawCoProductions.com
In partnership with Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square – cultivating the creativity, energy and edge that have made the area an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life for over a century. The Alliance provides core neighborhood services with its Public Safety Officers and Sanitation Associates, encourages economic development, coordinates major events such as New Year’s Eve and Solstice in Times Square, presents public art via Times Square Arts, and advocates on behalf of its constituents.
Timessquarenyc.org
Creative Direction by Harry Allen Design
Harry Allen Design is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design firm based in New York City. Although trained as an industrial designer, Mr. Allen achieved prominence in 1994 for his interior design of Moss. A multitude of interior design projects followed. His product design work spans a wide range, from furniture and lighting to packaging and accessories. The Harry Allen Design process is a unique combination of personal experimentation, cross-pollination, and strategic thinking, striving to make life more thoughtful and beautiful.
HarryAllenDesign.com
In celebration of NYCxDESIGN
NYCxDESIGN celebrates a world of design through the lens of New York City’s diverse design community, a melting pot of unique experiences and ideas that inform the best of design innovation and thinking. New York City’s unrivaled number of premier design schools, businesses, cultural institutions, and design professionals provide a global perspective on design that no other city can match. As the world’s business and media capital, New York City is the place for designers to expose the world to their products, philosophy, and innovation.
www.nycxdesign.com