Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, so goes the Pavilion. The Fire Island Pines Pavilion, destroyed in 2011 by a devastating fire, is now near completion, once again giving the Pines community a central hub for culture and nightlife. The reincarnation of the legendary dance club is designed by New York-based Hollwich Kushner (HWKN) and developed by Blesso Properties.The building’s form is sheared towards the harbor to visually welcome
the over 800,000 visitors who arrive via ferry to Fire Island Pines every
summer. The first floor offers a Welcome Bar to serve as a meeting place for
all residents and visitors. The dance club encompasses the building’s second
level, with a 2,400 square-foot dance floor and a 2,600 square-foot outdoor
terrace which will host High Tea in the evenings, and double as an additional
lounge at night. The Welcome Bar, the High Tea deck, and the Pavilion club
space are all connected by an internal loop of stairs. Inside the club, stadium
steps cascade out from one wall, creating an elevated view of the dance floor,
with a skylight overhead providing a constant view of the starry night skies.
The building is an exercise in
sustainability. Many of the design elements that make the space fun, like the
massive retractable roof over the dance floor, serve a double purpose by
providing passive cooling on hot summer nights. The decision to open half of
the building to the outdoors vastly reduces the need for air conditioning,
while also re-connecting people to the beauty of the natural environment in Fire Island. Additionally,
the choice of finishes on the exterior and interior is calibrated to minimize
material usage by exposing the Pavilion’s raw construction.
Fire Island Pines Pavilion was designed before Marc Kushner left the firm and when HWKN was named Hollwich Kushner.
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