Mergold's SuralArk on display at Socrates Sculpture Park
SuralArk, by Aleksandr Mergold (B.Arch. '00) and Jason Austin (B.Arch. '00) of Austin+Mergold, is a 55-foot replica of an upturned ship cast ashore. photo / Austin + Mergold
Detail of the reclaimed vinyl siding that comprises the shell of SuralArk. photo / Nate Dorr
Beneath SuralArk is a place where visitors can escape from the sun and contemplate the meaning of the structure. photo / Nate Dorr
Jason Austin, left, and Aleksandr Mergold underneath SuralArk. photo / Nate Dorr
SuralArk, by Aleksandr Mergold (B.Arch. '00) and Jason Austin (B.Arch. '00) of Austin+Mergold, is a 55-foot replica of an upturned ship cast ashore. photo / Austin + Mergold
Detail of the reclaimed vinyl siding that comprises the shell of SuralArk. photo / Nate Dorr
Beneath SuralArk is a place where visitors can escape from the sun and contemplate the meaning of the structure. photo / Nate Dorr
Jason Austin, left, and Aleksandr Mergold underneath SuralArk. photo / Nate Dorr
This spring, SuralArk, an "American vernacular interpretation of Noah's Ark," was on view at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens. Designed by Assistant Professor Aleksandr Mergold (B.Arch. '00) and Jason Austin (B.Arch. '00) of Austin+Mergold, SuralArk was chosen from more than 170 entries to Socrates's annual Folly competition. Made of reclaimed 2-by-6 lumber and vinyl siding, SuralArk has its material origins in American suburbia and its formal roots as a (discarded) upturned ship cast ashore.
