
Atelier Cho Thompson’s Installation in Flatiron Plaza Takes on a Double Meaning
When Atelier Cho Thompson began designing Interwoven, the winning submission for last winter’s annual Flatiron Plaza Holiday Design Competition, the studio had just endured 18 difficult pandemic months. So the idea of connection was crucial to co-principals Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo’s concept, which is a celebration of the power of coming together in a public space—specifically one in the shadow of Daniel Burnham’s landmarked triangular Flatiron Building that lends the surrounding district its name.
The installation’s title has a double meaning. It not only describes the 450-square-foot form—an assemblage of crisscrossing powder-coated steel arcs and panels of colorful polypropylene netting and resin, which assumes distinctly different shapes depending on the viewing angle—but also refers to the fabric of city life. “We were inspired by America’s woven tapestry of cultures,” Thompson says. Visitors to the structure, which stood from November through January, were rewarded for coming together: When two or more people passed through it simultaneously, a synchrony of LEDs and original music played. “It’s a magical and unexpected effect,” Cho Yoo adds.
There was more wizardry inside the little pavilion, which also won an NYCxDesign Award in the exhibition/installation category. A bench of post-industrial recycled cork offered visitors a moment of repose, while a wall of papers on a grid, backlit by more LEDs, allowed them to share written responses to the prompt “I dream of a world where together we can. . .” If your answer would’ve been to see Interwoven, as 2 million passersby did during its Manhattan run, there’s hope: Atelier Cho Thompson is relocating it to a New Haven, Connecticut, skate park in the spring.


read more
DesignWire
Chiaozza Copartners Dream Up Fantastical, Nature-Inspired Works in Their Brooklyn Studio
See the nature-inspired works by Terri Chiao and Adam Frezza including window displays for Hermès and a stucco forest at Coachella.
DesignWire
Traditional Thai Weaving Techniques Meet 3-D Technology in This Striking Installation
Enter Projects Asia brings balance and calm to the offices and public spaces of a small ice-making factory in Waregem, Belgium.
DesignWire
Kickie Chudikova Unveils Her ‘Spiral of Life’ Installation in DUMBO
Kickie Chudikova’s public seating installation was unveiled September 15 as a winner of NYCxDESIGN’s IMPACTxDESIGN competition
recent stories
DesignWire
Meet The 2025 Clerkenwell Design Week Product Awards Winners
Winners of the inaugural CDW Product Awards have been announced—spotlighting standout innovations from Clerkenwell Design Week 2025.
DesignWire
Check Out 2025 NYCxDESIGN Festival Highlights
Venture into the heart of New York’s design world with a sneak peek into the 2025 NYCxDESIGN Festival, lighting up the city from May 15-21, 2025.
DesignWire
10 Questions With… Esther Stam of Studio Modijefsky
Studio Modijefsky leaves its mark on Amsterdam with immersive interiors that blend materials, craftsmanship, and color to tell rich stories.