The BMW Guggenheim Lab's goal is to take a look at contemporary urban life issues and examine them through programs and public discourse to lead to forward-thinking solutions.
A mobile laboratory, it will travel to nine major cities around the world within a six-year period. The team consists of emerging talents in the areas of urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability.
Over the course of the six-year project, the lab will undergo three cycles and three structures, all designed by a different architect. Cycle 1 kicked off in New York on August 3 with a structure designed by Japanese firm Atelier Bow-Wow.
The theme of the first two-year cycle of the BMW Guggenheim Lab is Confronting Comfort. This cycle will explore notions of individual and collective comfort juxtaposed with the need for environmental and social responsibility. Cycle 1 will remain in New York until October 16, 2011, and then traveling to Berlin and an as-of-yet unnamed city in Asia. Cycle 1 will complete its course when it returns to the Guggenheim in 2013, with the full project expected to finish in 2016.
Watch a video about the BMW Guggenheim Lab to learn about the project.