Young members of two New York City-based firms faced each other in an arctic-themed model-building competition at a Brooklyn concert hall last night. Sean Bailey and David Iseri, of Konyk, and James Adams and Paul Kim, of FXFOWLE, had a mere two hours to sketch and construct a model of a futuristic, eco-friendly wildlife and research center in Alaska; they learned these program details only after the event began. Also a mystery was the material the teams were allowed to use to build their models: plastic drinking straws.

 

This fourth annual architectural duel, which doubles as a hipster party, was sponsored by Dewar’s and Brooklyn Brewery and was organized by LVHRD—pronounced “live hard”—an organization that hosts arts-related events in New York. The sold-out competition drew an enthusiastic crowd of 400 people, many of whom embraced the arctic theme and came dressed as lumberjacks and forest animals.

 

In previous years, attendees have cast ballots at the event and the winner was announced at the night’s end. This year, in addition to attendees’ votes, the public is invited to cast ballots online. Voting begins February 1 and will remain open for roughly one week at www.lvhrd.org. Field Operations prevailed over Balmori Associates in the 2007 competition, which asked competitors to build models out of cheese.