An architectural installation meant to clean the air to a degree equivalent to removing 260 cars from the road has been selected as the winning design in a competition to transform the courtyard of  MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, this summer.

The New York-based architecture and design firm behind the proposal, HWKN, won the 13th Young Architects Program, which is run jointly by MoMA PS 1 and its parent institution, the Museum of Modern Art.

The project,  called  “Wendy,” features a scaffolding apparatus that resembles a three-dimensional, multipronged star enclosing nylon fabric treated with a chemical spray that neutralizes airborne pollutants.

From HWKN:

Wendy does not play the typical architecture game of ecological apology – instead she is pro-active. That is why Wendy is composed of nylon fabric treated with a ground breaking titania nanoparticle spray to neutralize airborne pollutants. During the summer of 2012 Wendy will clean the air to an equivalent of taking 260 cars off the road. The courtyard at MoMA PS1 will be activated by tools like shade, wind, rain, music, and visual identity to reach beyond her envelope. Wendy‘s spiky arms reach out with micro-programs like blasts of cool air, music, water canons and mists to create social zones throughout the courtyard.

“It’s a really fun thing but it’s actually playing with brand new materials and technologies that are going to have more and more practical applications,” said Barry Bergdoll, the chief curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Bergdoll said it would also be great to look at. “It’s aesthetically unforgettable because it pops out of the courtyard and looks like this huge ornament,” he said. “It’s going to be amazing from the No. 7 train.”

via NYTArts