Threshold Launch

Located on the groundfloor of the building occupied by Van Alen Institute, "Threshold" seeks to reimagine the physical and conceptual boundaries between public and private space by transforming a New York City building and its sidewalk into a space for open-ended, participatory architectural and urban experimentation.

The inaugural installation for the space is titled New York Air Shaft by Van Alen Institute New York Prize Fellows Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio.

New York Air Shaft is an analogue depiction of the void space behind Van Alen Institute where mechanical systems are located. By bringing this ordinarily invisible private space forward as the public face of the building, this mural is a reminder of the utilitarian negative space that the system of the city depends upon.

As the Summer 2010 recipients of the New York Prize Fellowship, Annie and Dan documented and analyzed dozens of sites in New York City using a 3-dimensional laser scanner. This installation presents a glimpse from this new repository of digital data.