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| Jane's Carousel in Jean Nouvel's Pavilion |
In December, 1999, I visited the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris with my Dad. I distinctly remember the striking transparency and lightness of the Jean Nouvel-designed building. His “glazed barrier” of glass dissolved the delineation of the interior and exterior spaces.
I read an article in The New York Times in September, 2011 about the opening of Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Nouvel, a Pritzker Prize winner, had been commissioned to design a $9 million transparent pavilion to house the carousel. It was originally made in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and installed in a theme park in Youngstown, Ohio.
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| Looking into the pavilion |
The carousel was purchased at an auction in 1984 by David and Jane Walentas for $385,000. David was the original developer of the Dumbo area of Brooklyn and Jane, who is an artist, began the restoration of the carousel soon after they bought it. The original idea was to include the carousel in a marina and shopping complex along the waterfront between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The plan was later abandoned and a park was created instead. Once the Walentases received political support for the park, they hired Nouvel. The carousel is their gift to the city.
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| My initial view of Nouvel's pavilion in the park |
My first impression of the structure was its dramatic location along the East River. From a distance, it looked like the carousel was in a glass-enclosed box. However, as I got closer to the pavilion, I could tell that the walls were made of acrylic instead of glass. Nouvel wanted to create a slight distortion as you look in and out. The acrylic panels cost over $1 million.
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| Looking out of the pavilion at Brooklyn Bridge |
The Walentases originally asked Nouvel to design a round building, but the architect said that it would not look appropriate on that site and he wanted a square shape instead with each wall 72 feet long and a ceiling height of 26 feet. Nouvel considers the carousel to be a bijou in the middle of the box. This jewel is in stark contrast to the surrounding warehouses and bridges.
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| On the carousel |
The carousel itself is quite beautiful. It is a 3-row machine with 48 carved horses and two chariots. The scenery panels, crests, center pole and platform are original. Each ride is only $2 and I couldn’t resist going three times. The adults seemed to enjoy it as much as the children. Being in motion on the carousel while looking out through the acrylic walls at the bridges and buildings was a bit surreal but great fun. Because the weather was warm, the side of the pavilion facing the park was completely open and thus there was no barrier between indoor and outdoor space. At night, images of horses are projected against white shades within the pavilion to give the effect of a magic lantern.
http://www.janescarousel.com/
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