“X” marks the spot: Reddymade wins 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Competition

The results are in! Suchi Reddy's practice Reddymade was named the winner of the 2019 Times Square Valentine Heart Competition. This year, eight emerging architects and designers in New York were selected to submit their interpretation of a Valentine's Day-themed heart installation that celebrates love in NYC. Reddymade's winning proposal, simply titled “X”, will be unveiled at Father Duffy Square on February 1 and will be on display through February 28.

“X” goes beyond being the written symbol for a kiss. According to Reddymade, it evokes expressions of interpersonal and civic love and “explores how love within communities can manifest through connecting diversity and equality”. 

As the competition's tallest winning installation by far, “X” is an 18-foot-tall structure formed by two intersecting aluminum planes that create a passageway and meeting place. Round openings where the planes intersect cleverly form heart-shaped openings when viewed at different angles. At night, the installation's light glows brighter as people gather underneath.

“I founded Reddymade as a diverse architecture and design practice, with a human-centric approach,” said Suchi Reddy in a statement. “In a time of rising xenophobia and division in communities, I was inspired by the thoughtful brief to make an installation that is not only beautiful but is relevant to its context and communicates a message. Exploring the idea of community as a place of intersection led me to the tectonic expression of ‘X,’ which fit the context of Times Square, one of the most thriving intersections in the world of people, place and culture.”