Coney Island pavilion design winners announced.

Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC) Chairman and President Joshua J. Sirefman, and Van Alen Institute Chair Sherida E. Paulsen announced the winners of the Parachute Pavilion Design Competition, an open international contest cosponsored by CIDC and Van Alen Istitute.

The winning design team is Kevin Carmody, Andrew Groarke, Chris Hardie and Lewis Kinneir, of London. The competition, launched in November 2004, attracted more than 850 entries from 46 countries, including Poland, Russia, China, Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States, including 54 entries from Brooklyn. The 7,800-square-foot Parachute Pavilion will be located at the base of the landmarked Parachute Jump in Coney Island.

"One of the foremost priorities of the Bloomberg Administration is to revitalize and bring quality development to neighborhoods in all five boroughs of our great City," said Joshua Sirefman. "With its world-class waterfront location and rich history as an amusement center, Coney Island offers a tremendous base for us to build on. The overwhelming response for this design competition is testimony to the remarkable local and international interest in contributing to its very promising future. I congratulate the winning team for a truly innovative design and thank all the participants for their participation."

"By promoting it as a year-round recreation, amusement and commercial center, and as a major tourist attraction, we will preserve and celebrate Coney Island's magical personality--with a 21st Century incarnation of its heyday," said Borough President Markowitz. "We don't have to look any further than the winning design for the world-famous Parachute Pavilion for proof of the brighter days ahead--literally--for Coney Island."

The competition sought innovative ideas to create an all-season center of activity that would draw the public to a new recreational destination. The winning design, a pavilion with a matrix of light bulbs rising 30 feet from the ground, relates directly to the towering Parachute Jump without competing with its scale or Coney Island's skyline. A souvenir shop opens to double height exhibition space. An elevator and staircase lead to a bar and restaurant overlooking the exhibition space and an overhanging section of the pavilion provides shade in summer and protection in winter.

The winning design team receives $10,000 and the opportunity to work with Van Alen Institute to develop a program and a publication that demonstrate the role of powerful design in improving the City. A panel of 11 architects and designers, Coney Island residents, and City officials served as judges for the competition.

Second prize of $5,000 was awarded to Ramon Knoester and Eckart Graeve of Brooklyn and the Netherlands, and the $3,000 third prize went to Roman Torres, Patrick Stinger, Mayva Marshall and Adam Montalbano of Philadelphia.