19 Mar 2019
Snarkitecture’s interactive Snark Park art space opens in New York’s Hudson Yards
BY Luke Cloherty
A new interactive exhibition space, courtesy of US design studio Snarkitecture, has opened in the thriving Hudson Yards development in Manhattan, New York.
Called Snark Park, the new 6,000sq ft (557sq m) space will put on three major experiences per year, starting with its first installation, Lost and Found – a grid-like ‘forest’ made up of columns of various heights that emerge from the ground which aims to encourage visitors to interact with the space physically and emotionally.
"A lot of the design is meant to slow you down," said Snarkitecture partner, Benjamin Porto of the gallery.
"You see that with the floors, but also with the blacked-out entrance where you have to take a step back and explore, peek around corners, and notice how the space changes as you move through it.
"It's fun to hear people try to describe what Snark Park is – they will say it's a ride, it's a gallery, it's a museum.
"It's all of these different experiences. You kind of have to wait until it opens and see it in person before they say 'oh, I get it.'"
Porto’s partner Daniel Arsham added: "We often thought about creating an architecture where you are not just touching the floor but you are engaging with it in different ways. That happens to be something that people react well to.
"Certainly, other museums and intuitions are realising that this is a draw and a different way to engage audiences.
"We had already been doing it – not that we’re the first or anything – but it's always been a part of the ethos of the studio."
The Lost and Found exhibition will run until August 2019 at Snark Park, which is open year-round.
The Hudson Yards development has seen the opening of a number of new attractions and facilities recently, including Heatherwick Studio’s Vessel, which opened earlier this month and Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group’s the Shed, which opened in 2016.
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