Heartwalk was the winner of this year’s Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, a contest organized by Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance and Design Trust for Public Space challenging designers and architects to come up with a love-inspired installation for Duffy Square. Situ’s design stood apart from the others in that it not only celebrates romantic love, but also the power of love to heal and overcome after hard times like the ones faced by Hurricane Sandy victims.

To tie the two forms of love in together, Situ created a pavilion with two ribbons of elevated wood planks that curve together to form the shape of a heart. The structure includes boardwalk boards reclaimed from the Rockaways in New York and Atlantic City in New Jersey. At night, the Times Square Valentine’s Day installation will glow a deep red, inviting passersby to enter. The pavilion was made possible through support from Cheerios, as well as Arup Acoustics, Renfro Design Group Inc., Two Trees Management, HD MADE, JPR Lighting Group, Electrical Lighting Agencies and Sawkill Lumber.

Heartwalk will be open to the public until March 10, 2013, so if you’re around Times Square, don’t miss your chance to see it!

+ Situ Studio