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MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program is going on hiatus

United States Architecture News - Nov 28, 2019 - 15:48   10795 views

MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program is going on hiatus

The MoMA PS1 has announced that the Young Architects Program (YAP) has been placed on a one-year hiatus, following its 20-year anniversary last summer. 

The Young Architects Program, founded by MoMA and MoMA PS1, was established to offer emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative projects, challenging each year’s winners to develop original designs for a temporary, outdoor installation at MoMA PS1 that provides respite with shade, seating, and water.

MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program is going on hiatus

MoMA PS1 installation Wendy by HWKN 2012. Image Courtesy of MoMA PS1

According to a recent article by The Architect's Newspaper, Martino Stierli, the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the MoMA, has confirmed the decision and he said the program will be going on a hiatus for one year.  

"Following the 20th anniversary of the Young Architects Program (YAP), MoMA and MoMA PS1 have decided to place the program on a one-year hiatus. We remain deeply committed to supporting and recognizing emerging architectural talent," said Martino Stierli. 

"We’ve already started to use the hiatus to bring together a diverse group of influential scholars and professionals, experimental architects and designers, and previous YAP winners to assess the program’s impact for the past two decades, explore its potential, and strategically chart its future."

"We look forward to sharing more news as we move along in this process," Stierli added.

MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program is going on hiatus

Pedro & Juana's Jungle-Themed Cyclorama at MoMA PS1, 2019. Image © Kris Graves

The Young Architects Program was established by MoMA architecture curator Terence Riley as an annual invited invited competition in 2000 to promote innovative projects from young talents. 

The mission of the program is simple: a selected young firm proposes a design, functioning as a living, active meeting place for the general public. MoMA PS1 acts as a catalyst for ideas, discourses, and new trends in contemporary art.

For its selection process, to choose an architectural firm for the Young Architects Program, a list of scholars, professionals and previous winners nominate around 50 firms experimenting with new styles or techniques. Then the group is asked to submit portfolios of their work for review by a panel, including Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art; Kathy Halbreich, Associate Director at MoMA; Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1; Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs; Martino Stierli, Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture & Design at MoMA; and Sean Anderson, Associate Curator of Architecture at MoMA. 

MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program is going on hiatus

Jenny Sabin Studio’s Cellular Lumen Fabric wrapped MoMA PS1’S Courtyard in New York, 2017. Image © Pablo Enriquez

The panel selects five finalists who are invited to make preliminary proposals; the chosen winner is announced in February of each year.

Throughout its editions, MoMA and MoMA PS1 have collaborated with the National Museum of XXI Century Arts (MAXXI) in Rome, Italy, with CONSTRUCTO in Santiago, Chile, with Istanbul Modern in Istanbul, Turkey, and with MMCA in Seoul, Korea, to create international editions of the Young Architects Program.

Top image: MoMA PS1. Image Courtesy of MoMA PS1

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