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Read the press release here.

Art Contest to Bring Interactive Cloud Pavilion to Governors Island

By Jeanmarie Evelly | November 20, 2012 12:57pm

GOVERNORS ISLAND — Visitors to Governors Island will have a chance to take a walk in the clouds next summer.

The groups behind the participatory arts forum FIGMENT announced the winner of its third annual City of Dreams Pavilion Competition last week, and the selected design is an interactive art installation designed to look like a giant cloud.

The design, dubbed "Head in the Clouds," will be constructed from more than 50,000 recycled water bottles and milk jugs, which the designers will collect with the help of local schools and community organizations. Visitors will be able to walk inside the structure, which is white on the outside but has a striking blue interior.

The concept comes from architects Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of the Brooklyn-based Studio Klimoski Chang Architects.

FIGMENT, a nonprofit arts organization that hosts public art installments across the country, runs the annual contest in partnership with the Structural Engineers Association of New York and the Emerging New York Architects Committee of the American Institute of Architects NYC Chapter.

Jurors chose the clouds design from more than 200 other entries, according to a press release. The submissions were narrowed down to five finalists this summer.

Other proposals that nearly made the cut included plans for a canopy made from hundreds of toilet paper rolls, and a pavilion made from biodegradable plant starches that would be gradually eaten away by goats or horses.

"'Head in the Clouds' will offer visitors the chance to walk into the clouds, experiencing them from the inside out," FIGMENT said in a statement. "The City of Dreams Pavilion is a place dedicated to dreaming, and this year’s winning project exemplifies this ideal."

Last year's City of Dreams winner was a eco-friendly design, "Burble Bup," made from soil-filled fabric tubes and a number of inflatable iridescent balloons.