It must be a lot of pressure to try to rebuild the Fire Island Pavilion, a structure that stood for three decades as the most visible and communal of Fire Island's edifices until it burned to the ground in 2011.
"Aside from designing a building with personality, our primary focus was to recreate the social engine that was so unique to the famed Pavilion of the 90's," said Matthias Hollwich, one of founders of Hollwich Kushner, the architectural concept firm behind the new Pavilion, part of a larger ferry-side concept being designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the team that created the High Line and re-envisioned Lincoln Center.
"Although the new building has the same envelope and mix of uses as its predecessor, the similarities end there," says Matthew Blesso, managing partner at FIP Venues. developer and managing partner of FIP
Ventures, the owners of the new space. "The new structure is modern and casual, bold and iconic. It is the first thing visitors see when getting off the ferry, and we envision it to once again be the heart of the Pines community."
We'll see whether they're successful when the Pavilion opens its doors Memorial Day Weekend. In the meantime, here's time-lapse video of the new building being built up over long, hard days.
