'XXX' in Times Square
John Hill
24. August 2016
All photographs by John Hill/World-Architects
German architect J. Mayer H. unveiled his new installation, XXX TIMES SQUARE WITH LOVE, in New York City's Times Square this morning. The pink seats reference the X-shaped street inersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue as well as the adult theaters that once populated the area.
J. Mayer H.'s three Xs, which can accommodate four people each, sit between 43rd and 44th Streets on a completed section of the plaza designed by Snøhetta. The pink color contrasts sharply with the dark paving of the paving, though it is right at home in the brighy cacophony that is Times Square. Although a relatively small project for Jürgen Mayer H., it is an important one since it brings the Cooper Union-trained architect back to the city where he studied.
Times Square Arts, a part of the Times Square Alliance, is responsible for commissioning the piece, which are the first specially-commissioned ongoing street furniture for the new Times Square plazas. Although promoted as an ideal place for a selfie (#TSqXXX), the laid back loungers also give people sitting in them the ability to relax and look up at the buildings facing Times Square and the sky above.