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Read the press release here.

Heart Structure Made From Wood Salvaged After Sandy Lights Up DUMBO

By Janet Upadhye | March 14, 2013 9:50am

DUMBO — Heartwalk, winner of the Times Square Valentine’s Day Heart Design Competition, was envisioned and created in DUMBO.

And now the giant installation, made from wood reclaimed after Hurricane Sandy, has come home to DUMBO after a month on display in Times Square.

“It’s exciting to see Heartwalk set in another dynamic public space and the center of a neighborhood we’ve proudly called home for the past 10 years," said designer Wes Rozen of Situ Studio. "Since Sandy we’ve closely watched our community rebuild and hope the installation will complement the spirited recovery.”

The heart-shaped sculpture lights up at night, resembling a red-glowing nucleus in the middle of Pearl Street Triangle. Heartwalk can be seen from the bikes lanes above on the Manhattan Bridge.

The 30-foot public art installation is made entirely of wood salvaged the boardwalks in The Rockaways, Long Beach, Sea Girt, and Atlantic City. Designers then removed “screws and nails, salt and sand was washed away, splintered sections were trimmed off and the boards were cut to size,” according to Situ Studio. All of the work was done in a DUMBO studio.

“Heartwalk draws inspiration from the collective experience of Hurricane Sandy and the love that binds the city’s citizens together during trying times,” Situ Studio said in a statement.

Heartwalk will be on display in DUMBO through April 30.