In August 2013, an international design competition was initiated by Louisville-based design practice PART Studio LLC for a temporary festival pavilion to be utilized during the Centennial Festival of Riverboats in October 2014. The design competition garnered international attention, with entrants from 16 countries and twenty of the United States offering a unique survey of contemporary design trends from across the globe. The proposed designs are exhibited in Current Affairs on the third floor Brown-Forman gallery at KMAC through June 29th.A jury of regional business and arts leaders selected the winning pavilion on June 14, 2014.  The winning entry, DRIFT, submitted by Brooklyn-based design practice stpmj will be built as a temporary and multipurpose pavilion to accommodate a variety of uses during the riverboat festival. Stpmj design team members Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim are both natives of Seoul, Korea. Each holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Stpmj has an impressive track record with inventive design projects as evidenced by works such as Invisible Barn, a reflective structure proposed for the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York.

DRIFT proposes a triangular arrangement of eight foot diameter balloons that create a dynamic canopy over bourbon tastings, educational spaces for children and other groups. Jurors praised the project for its unexpected playfulness and relationship to historic river imagery. Jury member Rick Bell, a prominent Louisville historian, remarked that incorporating Louisville’s river history was a vital characteristic of the centennial celebration and one that required a unique expression. The design was interpreted by the panel of jurors as a type of inverted raft with romantic allusions to the journeys of Huckleberry Finn as well as the flatboats that once populated Louisville’s wharf in great numbers.The stpmj design team will receive a $2000 prize for their winning proposal, which will be fabricated locally for the Centennial Festival. The second place award of $1000 goes to Aaron Loomans of Milwaukee, WI for his entry, Paddle Flux.