What

The Architecture of Public Art is a program developed to introduce artists to the key skills of engineering and architecture to assist them in developing and presenting compelling and realistic designs that are capable of being fabricated in our built environment. The project is split into three parts:

• Workshop (2 half days, 4 week interval) – University Fine Arts students at the Fashion Institute of Technology took part in a workshop series as part of a special elective to develop a concept design for an art installation for Union Square.
• Design and procurement (2 months) – A design team of young professionals develop the winning concept design from the workshop into a drawing set for fabricators to bid on
• Fabrication and construction (3 months) – The selected fabrication team review, develop and fabricate the design for installation on site.

The workshops took place over two half days at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The workshops were a mix of short talks from young professionals about architecture and engineering, and site visits. The participants then completed design challenges during their class semester.

Participating students worked in teams of 2 to design an installation with a described brief, schedule and envisaged construction budget. The teams were tasked with creating concept sketches and maquettes, showing fundamental engineering views of the pavilion and explaining how it could be built! During the second workshop each team presented their design to a panel of friendly architects, engineers, urban planners, artists and local stakeholders.

The winning student team members’ design was used as the initial concept for the design team of young professionals to develop for the construction drawings.

For more information about the project team and participants, and for many better photos please visit the Union Square website.

When

Concept Design Workshops!
Friday Sept 19, 2025
Friday Oct 17, 2025

Fabrication
Aprul – May 2026

Construction
June 2026

Deconstruction
November 2026 (TBD)

Where

Who

Participating students were part of the Fashion Institute of Technology program in NYC. Funding for the project fabrication and installation was provided by Union Square Partnership with additional support from a local phianthropist.

Participants were:

• Committed to learning new skills to best present and develop concept designs for public installation.
• Interested in learning more about engineering, and the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry in general

If you are a teacher or organizer interested in signing up your students for future projects, or otherwise would like to hear more about the project, please contact dan@scalerule.org

Why

The workshops are a fantastic opportunity for interested student participants to:

• to develop an understanding of what architects and engineers do
• to consider new careers and career paths that integrate with public art and architecture
• to gain experiences for job and college applications

The workshops also provide an excellent opportunity for the organizing young design practitioners to:

• teach others about the fundamentals of their studies and careers
• develop hands-on teaching, designing and construction skills
• meet other like-minded designers
• help the built environment industry become more representative

Team

The Art of Public Architecture project was organized by Tali Cantor (Union Square Partnership), Dan Bergsagel (Scale Rule), and Lola Sheppard (Grimshaw).

The concept design workshops were completed with Fashion Institute of Technology student artists Noa Doron, Cianna Gibson, Jacqueline Lafayette, Samuel Leone, Michelle Bing Lin, Brenna Mahoney, and Ryan Michael Johnson.

The workshops were provided and supported with the ever-capable assistance of Rudi Starossek and John Archilla (schlaich bergermann partner), as well as Lola Sheppard, Tali Cantor and Dan Bergsagel.

The design development was completed by Ji-Young Yoon, Haodi Zhang (Grimshaw), Rudi Starossek and John Archilla (schlaich bergermann partner), with support from Lola Sheppard and Dan Bergsagel.

The fabrication and installation was completed by Brian Chu and the team at A05 Studio.

The Art of Public Architecture project is an adaptation of the Next Generation Design design-build workshops that Scale Rule have successfully organized and executed in the United Kingdom since 2015, adjusted for a different budge and a longer-term installation in a public space.

Support

The Art of Public Architecture was supported by Union Square Partnership, with additional philanthropic donation from Bob Fisch.

It was completed as part of the NYC DOT public art program.