Project Description
Salvage Swings is a cross-laminated timber pavilion built on Roosevelt Island by the Arkansas based architecture practice Somewhere Studio led by Jessica Colangelo and Charles Sharpless, AIA. The project was the winner of the 2019 City of Dreams annual international design competition and served as the center piece of the FigmentNYC arts festival.
The pavilion consists of 12 repetitive modules that frame individual swings and views of the park and surrounding city. The swings are organized collectively in a triangular form to create a new communal space within the park. The open framework of the pavilion can host a variety of activities including community swinging, picnicking, outdoor concerts, and hide-and-seek games. The swing seats come from the window cut-outs between modules and activate a large-scale peg game for kids. Integrated LED lighting in the swing windows transforms the pavilion at night into a beacon from the banks of the East River in Manhattan and Queens.
The pavilion is constructed from cross-laminated timber that was salvaged from the shipping palettes of the Stadium Drive Residence Hall construction project on the University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus. The 7’ by 30’ three-ply spruce palettes were processed and machined at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, where Colangelo and Sharpless are faculty members.
The project asks how a temporary pavilion design can utilize construction waste and also avoid ending up in the landfill after its initial period of use. The swings are designed to be easily assembled and disassembled with a small group of volunteers. Prefabricated finger joint connections and manageable piece sizes allows for the project to be flat-packed, shipped, and site assembled in a matter of days. The modular design intends to extend the pavilion’s life beyond the summer activities in new places and configurations.