Come May of this year, the largest and most iconic billboard in New York City’s Times Square will take a break from advertising soda and fast-fashion brands in order to promote great architecture! That’s right — a giant billboard at the “crossroads of the world” will be dedicated to celebrating the 2015 Architizer A+Award winners.
This is all thanks to an amazing partnership between Architizer and PVBLIC, a development and advisory firm that harnesses the power of unused media assets to drive social change. PVBLIC awards grants of unused media space to boost awareness of important causes — such as our mission to break architecture out of its echo chamber and help architects be recognized as the agents of change that they are.
Wondering how we plan to make the most of this incredible opportunity in Times Square? Our spots will celebrate the 2015 winners of the Architizer A+Award with credit to the architects (all images will be approved by the winners for use). Naturally, the billboard exposure will coincide with the Architizer A+Award Gala Event in May during NYCxDesign, the city’s annual design week.
By now, you surely know that the Architizer A+Awards are all about spreading the word about architecture and getting the general public — from potential clients to your mom — excited about what our profession does. With the help of partners like PVBLIC, we are going to showcase the power of architecture and the people behind it. The collaboration perfectly complements our media partnerships with The Wall Street Journal, GOOD, and Cool Hunting, not to mention Architizer’s own fanbase: We have millions of visitors each month and more than two million social media followers.
Who would’ve thought? World-class architecture on the big screen, beaming down from the bright lights of Broadway — competing with the likes of Coke and the Gap for cultural relevance! I can’t think of a better way to remind people that our profession is a vital and vibrant part of their lives.
But the only way to have the opportunity to get your work featured in Times Square is to enter the A+Awards. Time is running out: The final deadline is January 30, 2015!
Photo at top by Jean-Christophe Benoist, via Wikimedia Commons
