P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center: P.S.1 Newspaper 2009 Fall: Q&A with the YAP Jury: Peter Reed

2009 Fall

Q&A with the YAP Jury: Peter Reed

This article refers to the P.S.1 exhibition YAP 10th Anniversary Review

Part of the criteria for the Young Architects Program is a consideration of sun, shade, water, dancing and seating for P.S.1’s blockbuster summer music program, WarmUp. The jury committee comprised of both P.S.1 and MoMA staff, was asked five questions about their insights, experiences, and observations from the past ten years.

P.S.1: What do you find to be the most particular characteristics of the young architects of the past ten years?

Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director, Curatorial Affairs, MoMA: Inasmuch as the P.S.1 courtyard provides the unchanging frame, the program has basically remained the same. It’s extraordinary to see the range and diversity of creative solutions in terms of materials, methods of fabrication, and themes. I suspect one of the fascinating unwritten histories of YAP is how these structures are actually constructed on a limited budget, within a limited time frame, and with the enormous effort and goodwill that are generated by the excitement of a new project.

P.S.1: When do you think an installation has been/is most successful?

PR: Firmness, commodity, and delight are still relevant, right?

P.S.1: Have you seen a change in the field of architecture due to the influence of the YAP program? How have you seen it evolve?

PR: It seems to me that there is an ever-increasing awareness of architecture and design in the culture at large, which I think has been a by-product of many things, including the extraordinary energy that Terence Riley and others fostered in N.Y. in the 1990s and subsequent years. I know YAP has been a huge success because I get calls from many other cities around the country asking for information about how they can replicate YAP. If America had a good competition system, this competition might not be necessary.

P.S.1: How has the competition affected both P.S.1 and MoMA?

PR: P.S.1 has given MoMA an extraordinary platform to sustain a regular engagement with emerging practices. It’s been especially interesting to me to follow the architects’ careers in subsequent years and to see how some of the ideas put forth at YAP have played out in larger, more permanent projects.

P.S.1: Where do you hope the competition will go in the next ten years? In your opinion, how should it move forward and grow?

PR: I think that there are many possibilities, and although it may be impractical, it would be very exciting to see the program expand.

jump to top ^