DOT Art Display Panel - ARO Architecture Research Office

Temporary art displays transform streets into new public plazas throughout the city.

Part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s vision of cultural programming, the art display structure is practical and deferential to its urban context and the changing display of art. Easy to install and relocate, the art display structure is conceived as a short-term visitor to the public realm.

Materials typically associated with boats were employed for their lightness, and a renowned boat builder collaborated with the design team to develop construction details and fabricate the prototype. The display surface is a translucent stress skin panel composed of a single plastic core and glows when backlit.

Panel edges are beveled to enhance the thin structure and are clad in stainless steel for impact resistance.

Ten panels were initially fabricated and deployed in Downtown Brooklyn’s newly renovated Willoughby plaza. The panels have appeared in lower Manhattan, as well as Corona Plaza and Parsons Boulevard in Queens, and at other locations throughout New York City.