FILTER was thoughtfully designed by CLB Architects, and aptly named. The 20-foot-tall steel ellipsoid pavilion will serve as a monument to the natural environment in the urban landscape of Times Square. In partnership with EMIT’s material donation and fabrication, the CLB team was able to create the extraordinary work of art.

The ring of pre-fabricated steel columns creates a place of contemplation where one is removed from the chaos of city noise and everyday life. The experience is meant to create a moment of discovery, encouraging visitors to enter a mental space of solace. Constructed of steel and wood, FILTER is a tactile, sustainable, and renewable structure that celebrates our precious natural environment, as represented by a specimen tree at its center. The chapel-like structure fosters a sense of calm and encourages the visitor to be in the moment, connecting with one’s self and the environment in this introspective space.

In addition to providing refuge for momentary meditation, Eric Logan, partner of CLB Architects, sought to deliver a message about material conservation. At the close of the event, the structure will  be reassembled in Wyoming at EMIT’s headquarters and enjoyed for generations to come. The tree will be donated to The Battery Conservancy.

Times Square at West 46th Street and 7th Avenue

The project is based on a design by a team of Pratt undergraduate architecture students developed in an Advanced Design Studio led by Duks Koschitz and Robert Brackett in the Fall of 2021.

The project advocates for design activism and raises awareness about film plastic waste in New York, using repurposed materials to make a lightweight inflatable structure.

The structure serves as an easily deployable drop-off location for film plastic recycling.  The colorful patchwork of recycled material draws attention to how much film plastic we use in our daily lives.  The project stands as a physical visualization of film plastic waste and its environmental issues, such as plastic bag recycling.  The Pop-Up’s double saddle shape - created by a pattern consisting of concentric square tubes - serves a dual function: the concave spaces act as collection areas, while the convex spaces form the roof of the structure.

Pop Up/Drop Off not only collects plastic to be recycled, but also encourages community members to participate in film plastic recycling and seeks out permanent public drop-offs for future recycling.  Currently, in-store drop-offs are the only way film plastic can be recycled in New York State!

Pop Up/Drop Off can be re-used and installed within any neighborhood to promote better recycling habits for film plastic.

Designed and fabricated by

• Duks Koschitz, d.r.a. Lab, director
• Robert Lee Brackett III, d.r.a. Lab, co-director
• Matthew Muller, Pneuhaus, partner
• August Lehrecke  Pneuhaus, partner
• Levi Bedall, Pneuhaus, partner

Initial design research by Pratt Institute's undergraduate architecture students

• Hannah Bacsoka, research assistant
• Defne Çeltikçi
• Ileana Hernandez
• Meera Ilahi

The d.r.a Lab is a center for design research in architecture at Pratt Institute, which advances knowledge that correlates topics in geometry to manufacturing processes in order to provide sustainable building solutions. Geometric principles can be tied to advanced fabrication and thereby transform sheet-goods into high performance building systems. Their innovative projects use technology to improve materials and building systems economically, sustainably, and equitably.

Pneuhaus is an art and design studio that specializes in exuberant transformations of public space. Their immersive sculptures and environments are inspired by physics, biology, and craft, and incorporate the lessons of nature in both form and function.

Sponsored by‍

• Pratt: Office of the Provost, Dean’s Office, Undergraduate Architecture, and Academic Senate
• LexArtSci - Lexington Art & Science
• Miscellaneous Projects, LLC
• Village

Times Square at West 46th Street and 7th Avenue