For 63 years, Architect Magazine’s Progressive Architecture (P/A) Awards have recognized the best in yet-to-be-built architecture by U.S. firms. This year, the Arts Council for Long Beach’s Mobile ArtSpace won one of these five coveted annual awards, given out at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in February.
Alongside a skyscraper by Morphosis and an entire cultural district by Weiss/Manfredi, the Mobile ArtSpace – designed by a team led by Los Angeles-based 64North along with Buro Happold, Formation Association and Steve Roden – is the only winning structure designed for transport on a flatbed truck.
Architect Magazine describes the Mobile ArtSpace as: “A large black cube…mysterious and seemingly inert. At night, however, its reflective sides come to life with an LED light show. And prior to shows, a solar-powered, internally lit balloon will float high above, acting as a beacon to lure people to the site and the strange black cube.”
The box sides drop down to reveal a reconfigurable performance stage, which will host a diversity of arts and cultural events – from Cambodian dance troupes to film screenings – throughout Long Beach and later in other cities. After performances, the box folds back into its cube before being transported to the next location.
“The Progressive Architecture awards embody the most innovative, ambitious architecture in the United States and worldwide,” 64North Director Wil Carson said. “The Mobile ArtSpace is in many ways a perfect match for this award, given its radical redefinition of the role the arts can play in our city and community.”
“The impact on culture is really powerful,” Juror Matthew Kreilich said. “It’s doing some things most architecture isn’t trying to understand.”
Arts Council President Marco Schindelmann agrees. “The Arts Council is excited to host wildly diverse arts programming throughout the city – and in an award-winning architectural space. The architecture, along with the arts programming, will inspire.”
For more information about the 63rd Annual Progressive Architecture Awards, please visit http://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/p-a-awards/63rd-annual-progressive-architecture-awards_o.