SLP Art & Design is the brainchild of Interior designer, sustainability consultant and IIDA NY board member Seema Pandya, LEED AP BD+C. The Brooklyn-based, multidisciplinary company was officially launched in December 2014, to design, fabricate and install sustainable art into built environments.
Seema Pandya
“At SLP Art & Design we ask the question, ‘How can we connect with nature where we live and work?” said Pandya. “Our mission is to use art to create an experiential connection between the viewer and the environment.”
Pandya has over 10 years of experience in the green building and sustainable design industry. After noticing that many building systems were functional but not aesthetically pleasing or inspiring, she created SLP Art & Design as a platform to explore the potential merging of art and natural systems through sustainable installations that will trigger the viewer’s personal connection to nature.
Projects undertaken by the firm are completed by an interdisciplinary team of artists, engineers, scientists and other professionals as required by each particular project. This team then uses an integrated design process to create holistic, systemic and multi-perspective solutions. Some examples of completed projects include a sculpture that doubles as a rainwater catchment system and a windmill that tracks wind speed, but also makes music. Currently, the firm is working on a kinetic art sculpture that will possibly be submitted to this summer’s Figment NYC Project. Figment NYC is an interactive installation and public art festival beginning in June on Governor’s Island.
Amoebic Merry-Go-Round, a public art piece on display on Governors Island for Figment Festival Summer 2014. The kinetic piece creates an animation of growing organic forms as it spins.
Asked why it is important to blend sustainable function with appealing aesthetic design, Pandya said:
“Modern life has a tendency to disconnect people from natural cycles, even though people have an innate need and desire to be connected to nature and living systems. The work SLP will be focusing on is grounded in the core belief that sustainability and art are experientially transformative. Sustainable elements and functions featuring art and design have the ability to evoke abstract emotional responses and awareness of nature in a viewer that energy conservation and other sustainable technological advances alone cannot illicit. This personal reconnection can have an effective long-lasting impact that can seep into all areas of personal life."
Wind Glade, a project idea for a wind chime forest that would create tones to match the frequency of wind speeds from wind turbines.
In addition to launching SLP Art & Design, Pandya established Living Art NEXUS, in partnership with Max Zahniser, CEO of Praxis Building Solutions and as part of the nonprofit organization Sustainability NEXUS. Living Art NEXUS will be a sustainability arts curation initiative, curating exhibitions, supporting artist residencies, and providing a platform for artistic expression. The inaugural series will debut later this year.
Amoebic Void, a light sculpture with highlighted organic forms cut out of the negative space. The piece is hand carved from reclaimed wood and is lit with efficient LED lighting. All images courtesy of SLP Art & Design.
