Life on the Farm

Each summer, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center selects young architects to construct an “urban landscape” to fill its courtyard. The weekly parties thrown there, known as the Warm Up series, are always a big draw for the hipster set. Yesterday evening, I visited this year’s winning team, the husband-and-wife founders of WORK Architecture, Dan Wood and Amale Andraos, for a sneak peak at their project, which has its grand opening tomorrow.

“Even if I’m in bed I’m not sleeping,” said Andraos, sporting a slight sunburn and looking fatigued but happy. “So I’m just not staying in bed!” Unlike past P.S. 1 projects, which typically are riffs on a beachfront, Wood and Andraos have constructed an urban farm (they’re calling it Public Farm 1, or P.F. 1), complete with 50 different crops of vegetables and flowers. The plants, which were cultivated at farms in Queens and on Rikers Island before being transferred to P.S. 1 are nestled in tiered levels of cardboard tubing that rise over 15 feet in the air. Architecture student volunteers scampered around, adding finishing touches and stopping for an occasional veggie snack. I got a taste of the farm too—a deliciously crisp green bean. Apparently Bamba, the chef of P.S. 1’s cafe, Le Rosier, has already claimed the tomato crop for use in his recipes, although Wood and Andraos says guests are welcome to take home edible souvenirs. Other fun features of P.F. 1 include a splash pool, juice bar, station for charging mobile phones, and speakers that emit oinks, brays and clucks (adding to that farm feeling). The farm opens tomorrow evening, and the first Warm Up event is on July 5 from 3-9 pm.