Eight emerging firms to participate in 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, proposals will be presented in October​

Times Square Arts is working with the AIA New York Chapter for the first time for the 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition. Now in its eleventh year, the yearly contest challenges selected New York-based architects and designers to interpret their own Valentine's Day-themed heart installation that celebrates love in NYC, and the winning team gets to realize their design in bustling Times Square for all to see. Some previous winners include Aranda\Lasch+Marcelo Coelho, The Office for Creative Research, Collective-LOK, Stereotank, Young Projects, and Situ Studio.

Earlier this week, eight talented firms were announced as the 2019 participants:

• Agency Agency / Tei Carpenter
• Buro Koray Duman
• Isometric Studio
• N H D M / Nahyun Hwang and David Eugin Moon
• Only If Architecture
• Splice Design
• STUDIO 397
• REDDYMADE

The 2019 participants must “contemplate how a Valentine sent from the heart of Times Square might embrace various expressions of love, both individual and collective. Can the public art installation generate connections and ignite conversations that articulate our aspirations as individuals, as a city, as a nation, and beyond? How do you illustrate and amplify love in Times Square, where every day, 350,000 pedestrians from New York City, across the country, and around the world cross paths with strangers from all walks of life?”

Also for the first time, the teams will publicly present their designs at the Center for Architecture on October 15, from 6 to 8 p.m — plus, the winning design will be revealed! Afterward, the proposals will remain on display through November 2.