Tap City

At the corner of West Fourth St. and Thompson St. in Greenwich Village, on the northeast side of the McKim, Mead and White-designed Judson Memorial Church, is the Duncan Dunbar Memorial Fountain. It is passed by students, professors, children, park staff, tourists, artists, homeless people, construction workers, churchgoers, musicians, and street performers, so at times it feels like a microcosm of New York’s diverse interests. It was once a rejuvenating stopover for the Italian immigrant community in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. It is now another historical monument—dry—and another place to speed by.

We are asking you to create a structure, installation, or experience around this forgotten fountain, to devise a radically innovative proposal for the most particular of urban design sites. The street corner is static. We want to see mobile, changing, ephemeral. If fascination with water is to become the norm, it must be presented in a stimulating and adaptive manner. Think complex, not complicated; inviting, not closed; slowing down of time, not speeding up; ongoing, not completed; simultaneously historical and recent.

There must be a habitable space around the fountain. This can be supplemented by an audio, visual or video component. The design should be striking. It must be accompanied by both a 500-word project statement and a 150-word abstract statement. While it is easier to count expressions on word processors, these descriptions can be verbalized as audio clips or filmed. Consider this a digital competition. It is possible that finalists will be asked to install and execute their submissions on site--pending approval from local organizations and institutions--in the spring of 2012, so keep this tidbit of information in mind.

This is a call for undergraduate and graduate students only. If this is to be an even playing field, fresh, amateur talent need only apply.

www.tapcitycompetition.org
http://twitter.com/#!/tapcitytapcity