Wendy is a giant architectural installation designed to push the boundaries of what architecture is and how it can impact our experience, while also working to improve the environment. The spiky blue air-cleaning installation was created as part of MoMA’s PS1’s ever-popular Summer Warm-Up series and it delighted visitors and cooled them off with misters. Now Wendy will get another chance to show off her stuff at Abu Dhabi’s sustainability week. She’s even got a few new tricks up her sleeve like an upgraded scaffolding system, enhanced misters, new structural solutions, and a fully off-the-grid energy provision. Her smog-eating abilities come from her striking blue fabric, which is treated with a titania nanofilm that neutralizes airborne pollutants.
“The design for Wendy was a study in how far we could push the envelope of architecture to capture the public’s imagination and demonstrate what architecture can do for the built environment,” says HWKN Co-principal Marc Kushner. “Wendy Abroad is an opportunity to touch an even broader audience and raise awareness about the potential of the architecture that surrounds them.”
Wendy Abroad is sponsored by the Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, which works to enhance the future for citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Wendy Abroad in Abu Dhabi was also aided by Shawati’ Projects, a Cultural Projects Consultancy agency and publishers of Abu Dhabi’s art, culture and design magazine, Shawati’. Wendy will blast out cool air, music and mist in the Al Sahil Maydan Plaza of the Corniche from January 13th to February 6th, 2013.
Images ©HWKN and Inhabitat
