Sergio Lopez-Pineiro’s “Olmsted’s Blank Snow” Project
Soon enough we’ll be getting into the thick of winter and Sergio Lopez-Pineiro–an assistant professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo–is not going to let the snowfall go to waste this year. He is planning a large scale project in Buffalo’s Front Park which involves plowing snow into 15 giant mounds, forming a pattern of oversized polka dots.
At 42 feet wide and 7 feet tall, these mounds will dramatically alter the landscape of the park and its nearby waterfront. The title “Olmsted’s Blank Snow” refers to the famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Front Park with his partner Calvert Vaux. I have included more mock-up photographs below.
Sergio succinctly states, “…in a way, you could argue that my role as a designer has been to choreograph the movements of the snow plows in the parking lot through the winter.”
All photographs courtesy of Sergio Lopez-Pineiro
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Two things:
Maybe since it’ll finally be cold enough, we can play more with ice and snow ideas of the past — remember Michelle/Danielle’s snowlights to light up dark streets?
Also, I love models, and hopefully we’ll get to make some this year.
And well, a third thing, the scale of this idea is so great. Hopefully they get enough snow to pull it off.
Yep, we need to follow through with the snow lamp idea this year for sure. I’ll see if I can come up with any other winter-related ideas too.