10Up 2012 Winning Art Project on the Atlanta BeltLine

The residents of the Lofts at Reynoldstown Crossing have a brand new sight out of their windows that face the Atlanta BeltLine. “A Tensigrity Aviary” by Tim Frank and Chip Clark won a commission from the Young Architects Forum (YAF) of Atlanta as part of their 10Up 2012 Design Build Contest. The Young Architects Forum, a Program of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Atlanta, worked in partnership with Modern Atlanta and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. to provide this opportunity. Tensigrity is currently on display as part of Modern Atlanta’s Design is Human Week on the Atlanta BeltLine off of Memorial Drive.

Tensigrity by the Young Architects' Forum
A view from the base of "A Tensigrity Aviary."

Once installed, the lightweight aviary structure will float overhead, just out of reach, cantilevering over fifty feet beyond its small 10′ x 10′ footprint. The Aviary structure will serve as a bird perch and feeder, celebrating the BeltLine’s conservation of green space. In the spirit of the Atlanta BeltLine, the urban sounds of traffic and heavy rail will be replaced by the songs of birds.

Tensigrity by the Young Architects' Forum
"A Tensigrity Aviary" looking north up the Atlanta BeltLine trail towards Reynoldstown.

The Young Architects Forum (YAF), a program of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the College of Fellows (COF), formed to encourage professional growth and leadership development among newly-licensed architects (those within ten years of licensure). This is the third year they have held the 10Up competition.

The goal of this temporary installation is to create a unique spatial experience that complements the Modern Atlanta (MA) 2012 Design is Human event with a large scale design element accessible to hundreds of event patrons and thousands of beltline users.

 

Each year MA, hosts a celebration of architecture and design with a week of events in and around the city of Atlanta. This year the executive directors and founders of MA have once again asked the YAF Atlanta to create a competition for a temporary outdoor installation which will act as a beacon for this week of events. The structure is to be installed before and operational during the MA 2012 “Design is Human” events, currently planned for May 26-June 10, 2012. The project is not only to accentuate the series of events organized by MA, but will also be an event of its own celebrating young talents exhibiting their work to the public. Directors: Nathan Koskovich, 10UP Committee Chair, Ian Reves YAF Co-Chairman Adam Glenn, YAF Co-Chairman.

Submissions had to adhere to a 10×10 foot footprint within the site space alongside the Lofts at Reynoldstown Crossing.

Tensigrity by the Young Architects' Forum
As promised, the aviary is for the birds.

About the winning architects:

Tim Frank, director of Tim Frank Architecture, occupies a visiting faculty position within the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech.  Through a combination of practice and research, Tim’s work explores the role of design media technology in developing both sensible and sustainable architectural environments. He was also awarded a commission as part of Art on the Atlanta BeltLine 2011.

 

Chip Clark is a visiting instructor in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech where he teaches the design foundations laboratory and digital design/fabrication courses.

Tensigrity by the Young Architects' Forum
A page from the winning proposal by Tim Frank and Chip Clark.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *