John DeFazio, AIA
Architect
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John DeFazio, AIA
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tkts In the summer of 1999, Theater Development Fund, which operates the tkts booth in Times Square, invited architects and designers to enter tkts2K, an international competition to redesign the booth. The program called for a design that would sustain the booth's core function of selling discounted day-of-performance tickets for performing arts productions. For 26 years, the current tkts booth has been located at Father Duffy Square, a traffic island at the center of the Times Square Theater District. The goal of the TKTS2K competition was to provide an efficient, engaging and consumer-friendly interface between the ticket sellers and the patrons of the booth. The redesign of the booth presented the opportunity to create a new marker for Broadway, the Theater District and all of New York's performing arts. On the interior, less than 1,000 net square feet must house almost 2 dozen staff people. Given that all tickets are day-of-performance, there is a nonstop demand for up-to-date performance information. Ticket information is provided almost exclusively by electronic data links, as are the tickets being sold. On the exterior, the staff and patrons are in a similarly tight urban environment,sharing space with passersby, a growing number of office workers, street entertainers and visitors to the square. The current "kite" structure of metal members supporting panels with the repeating logo is an identifiable icon for visitors and New Yorkers, but one whose efficacy has been challenged by the explosion in scale and intensity of Times Square. The original tkts booth was intended to be temporary structure of a fine design. Our solution was to "monumentalize" the existing tkts booth. First investigations simply replaced the original materials and scaffolding |
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Plan view |
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The site plan is a little unusual as this is located in an island between two streets. |
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Wall design |
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