Program-less Archiecture

CURTAIN
Jerome H. Haferd
Brandt Knapp

I couldn't wait for the opening and I had to make a trip to Costco, which is adjacent to the Socrates Sculpture Park, where "Curtain" is being constructed.  The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park invited emerging artists and designers to speculate on contemporary interpretations of the folly.  Curtain is the winning entry by architects, Jerome H. Haferd and Brandt Knapp.

Constructed of 4" x 4" wood beams, steel joints that connect the frame and white plastic chain that is draped over the frame, Haferd and Knapp have played with the idea of folly.  I associate follies with garden structures on large estates... extravagant, useless, whimsical.  In an interview with Gregory Wessner, Knapp had this to say:  "We were really excited about the project prompt (for a folly).  That's what got us going.  We both have an interest in program-less architecture:  architecture that has little or no function or purpose. "

"I think that I'm interested in anything or anyone that poses questions that get me thinking on a level that art is supposed to, but I think that the difference between many artists and many architects is blurred.  It's really just that our disciplines set us apart."  Knapp

And I think everyone should venture out to this part of the world (Astoria) and take a look.  If you wondering about the differences between art and architecture, wander over to the  Noguchi Museum, it's across the street.