Governors Island | Inhabitat New York City

Benjamin Jones’ Technicolor TreeHouse Returns to Governors Island [PHOTOS]

Having a treehouse in your backyard (or even a backyard, for that matter) is a treat that most of us who grew up here in New York City never got to experience, but Benjamin Jones wants to change that. The artist and set designer recently brought his TreeHouse made of recycled materials back to the FIGMENT festival on Governors Island for the third year in a row, and it's bigger and brighter than ever! Click through our gallery to take a mini tour of the TreeHouse's new features, which include a gazebo made of old desks and three specially-commissioned artwork installations.

Giant “Cloud” Made of Recycled Plastic Bottles Pops Up on Governors Island

The organizers of this year's FIGMENT festival were hoping for clear skies this past weekend, but there was one cloud they welcomed with open arms. After months of hard work, STUDIOKCA's “Head in the Clouds” pavilion made of 53,780 reclaimed plastic water bottles finally popped up on Governors Island for the participatory art fair, and invited festival-goers to enter the pillowy structure to experience it from within. Click through our gallery to take your own tour through this dreamy, eco-art installation.

Help This Glittering Recycled Bottle Pavilion Materialize at the Figment Festival This Summer

The annual FIGMENT Festival on Governor’s Island is still a few months away, but STUDIOKCA is already hard at work on their Head in the Clouds Pavilion. The winner of the festival’s “City of Dreams” contest, the project upcycles hundreds of plastic bottles into a glittering cloud-like installation that visitors can sit around and under. STUDIOKCA has begun the arduous building process, and is simultaneously collecting plastic bottles from the community, while running a Kickstarter campaign to help build the installation. Read on to see how you can help!

Pillowy Cloud Made of 53,780 Plastic Bottles Chosen as 2013 FIGMENT Festival Pavilion

The next FIGMENT Festival on Governors Island may not be until 2013, but plans for the weekend-long celebration of participatory art are already underway. Each year, the festival calls on designers and architects to design a pavilion for the island out of recycled materials, and it looks like they now have a winner! After several months of deliberation, Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang’s “Head in the Clouds” pavilion made of salvaged plastic bottles and jugs was chosen to be realized for next year’s fest.

New York Harbor School Students Suggest Oyster Reefs as Protection from Storm Surges

Photo: The Harbor School

The industrious students of the New York Harbor School have an innovative answer to how we can protect the city from the next Hurricane Sandy – oysters. The school, which is on Governor’s Island, has been growing oysters over

FIGMENT Festival Unveils 2013 City of Dreams Pavilion Finalists on Governors Island

Every year, we look forward to the FIGMENT Festival, which brings a weekend of free participatory art to Governors Island. This week, the festival announced a sparkling selection of 2013 pavilion finalists - all made from recycled and reused materials. There are many amazing projects to choose from, like Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang’s “Head in the Clouds” seen above, so choosing the winner will not be an easy task!

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s On the Water, For the Water Festival

Join the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance for an On the Water, For the Water Festival and a FREE day of entertainment, education & adventure celebrating the potential of our waterfront!

Guests will enjoy:

Fun and FREE boat tours for thousands on historic

[PICS]: Bike and Roll Rents Bikes and Quadcycles from Bright Blue Shipping Containers on Governors Island

Looking for a leisurely way to spend a Saturday? How about taking a bicycle, tandem bike or quadcycle for a spin around Governors Island? Bike and Roll NYC rents their fleet of cruising machines out for visitors to enjoy, and they do it from recycled blue shipping container kiosks to boot. We recently went to check out this eye-catching example of repurposed design and take a pedal-powered joyride around the island. Click through to see our photos and learn how you can rent one of these babies out yourself.

FIGMENT NYC Brings Free Participatory Art to Governors Island This Weekend

Looking for a way to get your creative energy fired up? FIGMENT NYC 2012 is returning to Governors Island this weekend! This free, family-friendly and participatory event will fill the island with more than 200 interactive art projects – many of them made

5 Free Things to Do During Memorial Day Weekend in NYC

Memorial Day typically results in a mass exodus of NYC each year, but if you're sticking around on the homefront this weekend, there are plenty of free events and activities of which to take advantage. From a Central Park walking tour of monuments that pay homage to fallen heroes to a waterfront bike ride towards ships visiting for Fleet Week to a free family festival on Governors Island, read on to see all of the fun things you can do this weekend in the Big Apple!

5Boro PicNYC Local Food and Music Festival on Governors Island

The ultimate picnic in NYC! The 5 Boro PicNYC is a 2-day-only local food celebration of craft beer, gourmet eats, and live tunes taking over Governors Island. The event features chefs from all five boroughs, including Jimmy’s 43, Corey Cova of ABV and Earl’s

First Phase of Governors Island Overhall to Start in 2012

We distinctly remember jumping out of our seats with excitement when the City of New York’s $220 million plan to overhaul Governors Island and turn it into a green oasis was unveiled. Now with the same excitement, we bring you the news that ground will break

Governors Island Art Fair Transforms Former Military Barracks into Exhibit Spaces

The fourth annual Governors Island Art Fair kicked off Labor Day weekend with over 120 artists transforming the former military barracks into creative spaces. Sponsored by the New York-based arts group, 4heads, artists were selected based on their individual creative merit and assigned one of the former military barracks to convert into a revived exhibit space. This year for the first time, several galleries were also selected to take part in the fair, which is open every weekend in September. Hit the jump to see some of the sustainably-minded artwork!