A B Abruzzo BodziakA Architects

Investigation 1405Letters to the Mayor

A B Abruzzo BodziakA Architects

Investigation 1405Letters to the Mayor

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(Figure 1) Storefront for Art and Architecture, Letters to the Mayor

exhibit, April 30, 2014 – May 24, 2014

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Letters to The Mayor As a civic figure, the architect has the privilege and responsibility to articulate and translate the collective aspirations of society, and specifically of those not able to sit at the decision-making tables. Throughout history, architects have engaged with this responsibility and the structures of economic, political and cultural power in different ways and with varying degrees of success. With the rise of globalization and the homogenization of the contemporary city, the role of the architect in the political arena has often been relegated to answering questions that others have asked. While designing the next economically driven cultural-iconic-touristic object, an increasing amount of both architects and with

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them, politicians, have forgotten the ethics that should be associated with architectural practice and the potential of design in the construction of public life. Letters to the Mayor presents fifty letters written by international architects to the political leaders of more than 20 cities around the world. Each letter provides a space of reflection for the architect to present ideas and methodologies and express some of the concerns and desires that might contribute to action within political spheres. Letters to the Mayor also presents the eighteen finalists of the Competition of Competitions, a project launched in 2013 that invited interdisciplinary teams of architects, artists, economists, philosophers, writers, and citizens at large to formulate their visions of the

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future of architecture and cities in the form of a competition brief. With the intention to provoke long-standing conventions of the architecture competition, the first edition of the Competition of Competitions drew more than 100 entries, which were reviewed by a jury of professionals and visionaries including Amale Andraos (Architect, Work AC), Paola Antonelli (Architecture Curator, MoMA), and Michael Sorkin (Architect and architecture critic). Letters to the Mayor is thus a compilation of briefs, facts, desires and dreams for the construction of our cities foundations and horizons. All competition briefs and letters will be sent to each respective City Mayor after being presented at the Storefront gallery.

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Mayor Bill de BlasioCity HallNew York, NY 10007

April 29, 2014

Dear Mr. Mayor,

Go fly a kite.

I don’t mean that in the, “take a hike” way, or even the “see if an idea floats” manner; I mean literally, you should fly a kite. Or, better, ask eight million people to do it with you (imagine the photo op). Flying a kite gets us New Yorkers outside, suggests that we meet one another, and requires a break from

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television, news, and social media. A physical activity that requires control, it increases concentration and clears the mind, relieving stresses while we begin to remember how to engage with something so elemental as the wind. As an architect, I’ll point out that making and designing objects to occupy the air breeds imagination from the start, and as we look up we’ll consider the City’s architecture and infrastructure, and what it means to navigate these spaces (if by proxy) fifty, or a hundred feet up. Yes, yes, I know all about the issues. The reasons that kite flying is considered a “regulated activity” by the City: kites can distract drivers, get stuck in things, and other evil stuff I am sure. But, you’re Mayor, and you also know that nothing special, or sublime even, ever happened because

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it was easy. Imagine a single day where public spaces, tops of buildings, landscapes, wide streets, and the city’s edges begin to float all at once, as hundreds, thousands, or even millions take to the outdoors to fly their kites with one another, and with you. For this to work, you don’t have to redesign the City; maybe just change certain uses for a short while (and/or warn the drivers). In Los Angeles, CicLAVia turns off traffic for several hours a few times a year to allow thousands of pedestrians and cyclists to take over streets like Wilshire Boulevard, and the result is a new experience of the City that also happens to be healthy and good for businesses. Going a step further than a scheduling-based solution, you might have someone write a program that analyzes parts of the city for their

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specific architectures, power lines, lighting, traffic, views, and wind in order to define continuous, fluid “kite-flying zones” that mimic the idea of the bike lane, snaking through the grid. A longer term notion would be encouraging the creation of public spaces that have looser definition in terms of their program, allowing the activity to be more widespread on an everyday basis as opposed to relegated to specific areas of certain parks, or certain days of the year within sanctioned events. Maybe there are even other healthy, harmless activities that would be nice to un-regulate somewhat. A tradition and pastime common to many cultures, kite flying is something pure, optimistic, and embedded in our souls. “Kite days,” “NYC Soars,” or whatever you’d like to call your

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interventions on the part of the kid in us all, could be something you’re remembered for. Sure, its not hard-nosed politics, but who could knock instilling a sense of community, encouraging joy, or in the case of arranging a massive, one-day event, being responsible for one of the largest works of collective performance art the world has seen? You might be interested in an ancient Chinese saying: “those who fly a kite can have a long life.” … A long political life? Not that I tend to pay attention to things like “National Kite Month” (it’s April by the way), but maybe that’s a good enough excuse. Should we fly together?

Sincerely, Emily Abruzzo, AIA, LEED AP

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(Figure 2) Brooklyn Bridge Kite Festival

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(Figure 3) FlyNYC Kite Flying Festival

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(Figure 4) Image by “gigi_nyc”

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(Figure 5) Image by “David Tan”

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(Figure 6) Image by “Dave Bledsoe”

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(Figure 7) Image by “David Tan”

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(Figure 8) Kite Photography, Image by Arthur Holland Michel

Information

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Abruzzo Bodziak

Abruzzo Bodziak Architects is an award-winning New York-based prac-tice with experience ranging from civic and cultural projects to homes, exhibitions, and research-based initia-tives. A thought leader in the field, the firm’s work is rooted in experience and is defined by an innovative approach to contextuality, relentless focus on detail, and aesthetic achievement with a strong conceptual viewpoint. Established by Emily Abruzzo and Gerald Bodziak, ABA has been rec-ognized by the Architectural League of New York (the 2010 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and Designers), the AIA (New Practices New York 2012 and a 2013 AIA New York Design Award), Wallpaper Magazine

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(Architects Directory 2013: “The world’s best young practices”), Architectural Record (2016 Design Vanguard), and the New York City DDC (Design + Con-struction Excellence Program). The office’s work has been featured in international publications such as Architectural Record, Wired, Fast Company, FRAME, Domus, PIN-UP, Baumeister, and Cultured, and has been exhibited by institutions such as Exit Art, Japan Foundation, Storefront for Art and Architecture, The Boston Society of Architects, and as part of The New Museum Festival of Ideas, with the Audi Urban Future Initiative.

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Emily Abruzzo, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB is a Founding Partner of ABA. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College and her Master of Architecture from Princeton University, where she also received a Certificate in Media and Modernity and was named a Fellow at The Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies. Currently a Critic at the Yale School of Architecture, Emily is a founding editor and publisher of 306090 Books, and a 2014 MacDowell Fellow. She is a citizen of both the United States and Italy. Gerald Bodziak, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB is a Founding Partner of ABA. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and his Master of Architecture from Princeton University.

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Gerald is a Fellow of The Forum and Institute for Urban Design, and has taught design and construction courses at numerous institutions including Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. He is a citizen of the United States.

Imprint

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Investigation 1405Letters to the Mayor

Publication:2017, Abruzzo Bodziak Architects68 Jay St. #414, Brooklyn NY, 11201(aba.nyc)

Originally commissioned for Storefront for Art and Architecture’s

“Letters to the Mayor” exhibit, 2014 (storefrontnews.org)

Photography:ABA, Others as noted

Graphic Design:Studio Lin (studiolin.org)

Copyright:ABA unless otherwise noted

ABA Investigation Booklets

1508 “I’m In”1507 “Unmeasurability”1506 “Magic is in the Setup”1409 “Winner Winner”1405 “Letters to the Mayor”1303 “0,4,8,20”1214 “Snowflake”1210 “Homeless Projection”0702 “Model Now Open”0603 “Modernism and the Glut”

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