NYC Gay Couples Wed Beneath Delicate Recycled Cardboard Pop-Up Chapel in Central Park

After waiting up to 22 years for New York City to recognize their right to be married, several same-sex couples sanctified their love beneath these poignant recycled pop-up chapels. Winner of a ten day Architizer design competition sponsored in part by The Knot, Z-A Studio's design called the "Kiss" is made out of two stacked honeycomb cardboard parts that have to lean on each other for support (just like couples do!). The chapels were erected in Central Park on July 30, 2011, where 24 same sex couples gathered to say their vows.

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The competition called for temporary structures that could be put together in two hours or less (when you’ve waited 22 years, you don’t want to wait too much longer for a pop-up chapel), and that requires a footprint of no more than 8 square feet. Most of the 56 submissions came from New York designers.

Guy Zucker’s double helix design took first place in part because the two pieces of the chapel can not exist without the other – a sentiment that definitely underpins a strong marriage. Not only are these chapels temporary, but they are also made out of recycled materials that can in turn be recycled. Now that’s a marriage of design and sustainability that we can live with!

+ Z-A Studio

Via Designboom

images via Celine Willard and Melissa Murphy