As Governors Island revs up for another summer of arts and cultural activities, the sponsors of the City of Dreams Pavilion 2011 have announced a winner in their second annual competition to design a temporary gathering place made of sustainable materials for the isle. The winning design, "Burble Bup" by the "design farm" Bittertang, is a playful pavilion with seating made of soil tubes and a roof of inflatable purple-hued "Bups," which resemble inner tubes.

Mounds made of soil- and bark-filled fabric tubes will provide sitting and climbing surfaces inside the pavilion for public performances as well as for simply just hanging out. According to a statement released by FIGMENT, a non-profit arts organization and one of the competition's sponsors, "Burble Bup is a secret hideout that lures people into its soft and magical interior through the use of a colorfully inflatable roof." The designers envisioned "strangers lounging and mingling within Burble Bup's earthen walls, lying down and feeling comfortable underneath constantly shifting colored light."  

At summer's end, the fabric tubes will be composted and the pampas grass and soil will be used for other landscape projects. As for the Bups, plans call for them to be repurposed as inflatable pool toys at New York City swimming pools (though with the swimming season ending at the same time, it seems likely that the pools will have to hold onto the Bups and use them the following year).

Bittertang was founded by Antonio Torres and Michael Loverich in 2005 and now has offices in New York City and Guadalajara. If "Burble Bup" sounds unusual, consider this: the company's past projects include living aquaculture orbs, stuffed animals, piñatas, and sukkahs.

In addition to FIGMENT, the competition's other sponsors include the Emerging New York Architects Committee of the American Institute of Architects' New York chapter and the Structural Engineers Association of New York. In 2010, Ann Ha and Behrang Behin won the competition with their "Living Pavilion" design, which featured "green walls" constructed of milk crates containing living plants.

"Burble Bup" will be open to the public in the courtyard of Liggett Hall during Governors Island's summer season from May 27 to September 25. The funds necessary for its construction must be raised, and the project's realization still depends upon approval by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation and other regulatory authorities.