Dueling Architects
The crowded Canal Room in NYC served as a backdrop to the dynamic duel, March 21, 2006. The evening had a water theme: a pirate radio station ran the DJ booth and seafaring hats floated in the sea of spectators.
Matthew Grzywinski and Amador Pons are Grzywinski Pons, the small firm competing in the architect duel hosted by LVHRD (pronounced "live hard").
Despite being relative newcomers to the world of architecture, these guys have led their firm in recently completing a shiny, posh new hotel in Manhattan's hip Lower East Side, the Hotel on Rivington.
Eric Hoffmann and Daniel Colvard are part of the notorious Arquitectonica, and are self-described "corporate iconoclasts." Their giant firm has designed condo buildings across the globe, but is best known for the bright and angular Westin Times Square.
Information is scarce, but the MCs have told architects to pretend it's the year 2056. They are to assume much of urban America is under water and to model a structure that will float above it.
Get it, the Canal Room? Nautical theme? Get it?
"Architects are famously fun people who get their good spirits beat out of them by school and harsh jobs," said Nobel. "Things like this -- it's good for them to have fun."
From right to left, Becky Beahm, 27, Peggy Roecker, 31, and Stephanie Basom, 25, enjoy the show and create the ambiance.
For most of the two, 45-minute construction rounds, it appeared that Grzywinski Pons (pictured) was lagging behind Arquitectonica, in both progress on their structure and ideas.
The evening of March 21, 2006, was the second architecture duel for LVHRD, but count on more matchups -- it has even hosted a models vs. scientists trivia night.
Grzywinski Pons won more random audience votes than the 400-member firm Arquitectonica.
The prize: water wings (to fit the nautical theme) and the iPods used in competition. Don't mind the extra layer of hot glue on that dial, Matthew and Amador.