Dwell Media Announces Winner of Dwell Vision Award: SLO Architecture

(New York, NY) Nov 8, 2013 – Dwell Media is proud to announce the winners of this year’s inaugural Dwell Vision Award, Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi of SLO Architecture. The award celebrates design innovation that is technically and artistically groundbreaking, and that shows a new method, material, or concept that is advancing modern design. The gigantic Harvest Dome structure, made from recycled materials, captured the imagination of the judges by emphasizing the human connection to nature and New York’s waterways, often overlooked by the urban population. Three finalists were selected from almost 300 entries by top architecture firms to young emerging designers. The jury comprised the Dwell editorial staff headed by Editor-in-Chief Amanda Dameron; Pedro Gadanho, the Curator for Contemporary Architecture at the MoMA; and Carey Smith, CEO of the Big Ass Fans company, this year’s corporate sponsor.

The finalists and their work were showcased at the Dwell Vision Award ceremony on Thursday, Nov 7, 2013. The award setting was a vision in its own right; held at the historic Jane’s Carousel in DUMBO, the 200+ attendees were illuminated by 1,200 brilliant lights adorning the masterfully restored 1920s carousel. "The jury was so pleased to see the result of hundreds of innovative minds at work—the submissions poured in from all over, making our selection process extremely difficult!" said Dwell Editor-in-Chief Amanda Dameron. "The process of making the final selection for the first-ever Dwell Vision Award was daunting but extremely heartening—good design ideas educate us all, lead to action, and transform our modern world."

Michela O’Connor Abrams, President of Dwell Media, also revealed that the Dwell Vision Award 2014 would be held at 82 Mercer Street during Dwell on Design, New York (DODNY), announcing the company’s intention to bring their west coast design fair to the east coast next year. Dwell on Design, Los Angeles, which drew a record crowd of 30,000 visitors this year, will be at the Los Angeles Convention Center again June 20-22, 2014.

Winner: Harvest Dome 2.0

Amanda Schachter & Alexander Levi

SLO Architecture

New York, NY

Designed by SLO Architecture, Harvest Dome is a floating, diaphanous orb built for the New York City waterways. A 24-foot diameter cupola made from over 450 reclaimed umbrellas, and floating on 128 empty two-liter soda bottles. Harvest Dome reveals a circadian cycle of tides at the northern tip of Manhattan, home to one of the islands last remaining saltmarshes. The Harvest Dome was funded by a MCAF grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Finalist 1: Building with Bed Frames

Bundit Kanisthakhon

Tadpole Studio

Honolulu, HI 

When the Honolulu Museum of Art approached Tadpole Studio to find a creative solution to replace their existing parking attendant booth, Tadpole Studio responded to the challenge with a design that utilizes discarded metal bed frames frequently found at Honolulu’s curbsides. In Honolulu, garbage collection includes large bulky items, and as a result, unwanted furniture and appliances can often be found on the street. The resulting structure is an excellent approach of using recycled materials to create smart designs solutions.

Finalist 2: Orongo Station

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects

New York, NY

At Orongo Station, a 3,000-acre sheep farm and residence on the North Island of New Zealand, Nelson Byrd Woltz designed and implemented multiple productive farming operations alongside restoration regimes to repair ecological damage; design moves revealed and protected important cultural sites of the Maori people including a historic cemetery and fragile earthworks. Their efforts have contributed to the economy by providing opportunities for the locals to establish nurseries that supply trees and plants for ecological restoration. This design approach serves as a national model for sustainable land management.