Local studios WXY Architecture and Situ have collaborated with government agencies to create standardised formats for outdoor dining pavilions in New York City to improve health and safety along with new guidelines.
Following a decision to keep outdoor dining pavilions as a permanent fixture on New York streets, the city launched a public competition for studios to standardise the materials and formats of the structures ? many of which were hastily built during the Covid-19 pandemic.
WXY Architecture and Situ created prototypes for outdoor dining pavilions in New York
Called Dining Out NYC, the program updated the protocols for these structures implemented during the height of the pandemic. The new guidelines allow roadside structures to have seasonal outdoor dining between April and November. Sidewalk pavilions, which are usually attached to buildings, are allowed to stay open year-round. WXY Architecture (WXY) and Situ were chosen to launch a three-month process to test and construct various formats to standardise the pavilions. Working with consultants from multiple government agencies, the team constructed roadside pavilions that adhered to different urban conditions.
The prototypes took into account safety and cleanliness
"We combined engagement, design and fabrication, which is, I think, pretty innovative," WXY principal Claire Weisz told Dezeen.
"The three that got built and funded by the city were supposed to represent some typical but very different...