The Brooklyn Bridge Park is now staging Jane’s Carousel in a pavilion built by French architect Jean Nouvel.
Jane’s Carousel is the new centerpiece of the Brooklyn Bridge Park: A wooden carousel of the year 1922 placed in a new steel and glass pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel.
The carousel is a hand-restored long-term project by Jane Walentas, who brought Jean Nouvel, with her husband, the developer David Walentas, to Brooklyn the first time 11 years ago to design for a nearby sitea never-realized hotel that was meant to cantilever over the East River.
Since the couple played a seminal role in bringing Nouvel's work to the United States, he agreed to design a pavilion, a small structure of glass and mirrors, that would allow the carousel to be enjoyed year-round.
Nouvel placed the carousel in the center of pavilion, making it the most important part of the building.
The pavilion is a 72’ x 72’ (22,0 m x 22,0 m) steel frame structure with fixed acrylic glass panels on the North and South facades that are more than eight-and a half by three meters in size and are installed without mullions in order to allow direct view on the carousel from the outside and from the inside to the city around it.
The East and West facade are made of operable industrial-grade folding doors to allow to widely open up the pavilion in summer.
There is a round glass opening in the roof above the center of the carousel to allow visitors enjoying a ride to see the sky. Otherwise the ceiling is clad with mirrors, and painted in black to create a quiet atmosphere.
After sunset four 70’ x 25’ (21,3 m x 7,6 m) recessed screens drop down and enclose the structure. Projectors installed in the middle of the carousel project images of the carousel horses onto the façade and the building is transformed into a magic lantern that will be visible from across the waterfront.
The cost of the restoration of the pavilion was 15 million dollars and that of the construction of the building 9 million dollars.
Hours
11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. daily, closed Tuesdays
Tickets: $2
Special Introductory Offer: 12 tickets for $20.
Group rates available
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Children age 3 and younger and those under 42” (1,0 m) tall may ride free if accompanied by a paying adult.
More information:
www.janescarousel.com
