Andrea Blum, Dan Graham, Patsy Norvell Newsstand Design

In 1986, the Public Art Fund forged a partnership with the 14th Street-Union Square Local Development Corporation to sponsor a design competition that paired artists with architects to create a prototypical newsstand design as an alternative to the standard New York City “box.” Public Art Fund’s goal in sponsoring these designs was to set a new standard for excellence in urban design.

Artist Andrea Blum and architects Kenneth Kaplan and Ted Krueger
Untitled [newsstand design]
Artist Andrea Blum (b. 1950, New York City, NY) worked with architects Kenneth Kaplan and Ted Krueger for the realization of her project. They explained, “Our approach has been to couple electronic media with traditional print formats in a structure that respects the constraints imposed by regulations and a strict budget. This design has developed in two stages. The first isolated the newsstand operator from the news, the second has eliminated the operator altogether, thereby becoming a totally automated news station. We have pared the newsstand down to its basic function of disseminating the information including a telephone booth and time/temperature as other important street concerns. Besides the selling of conventional newspapers by means of the ‘honor box’ system, the running headlines will be electronically displayed along the top of the stand as a means to link the news with the traffic of the street. The headlines would be communicated both in English and a second language, responsive to the cultural identity of the neighborhood in which the newsstand would be located.”

Dan Graham and architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien

Untitled [newsstand design]
Artist Dan Graham (b. 1942, Urbana, IL) worked with architects Tod Williams (b. 1943, New York City, NY) and Billie Tsien (b. 1949, Ithaca, NY) to create his work.

Patsy Norvell and R. M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects
Untitled [newsstand design]
For artist Patsy Norvell (1942–2013, b. Greenville, SC) and the architecture firm R. M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects, their “simple shape, which is at once ordinary and interesting, and the ‘Park Service Green’ color of the steel elements lend to the newsstand the untroubled replicability of street furniture. Adaptability of plan within a consistent form, tuned by experience and experiment, produce a multitude of little buildings with both dignity and character in the streetscape of the City.” The design reflects their interest in achieving flexibility, security, and an aesthetically pleasing structure that satisfies the requirements of a variety of sites.