Project Information
Name of the project: Blo Puff
Architects: The Bittertang Farm
Location: New York City
Year (project/construction): 2010
Client: Sukkah City Competition NYC
Construction Company: Work done by The Bittertang Farm + Ubaldo 'Chubas' Arenas, Matthew Deters, and Luis Lazalde.
Photography: Anna Ritsch
Blo Puff’s bloated body and furry innards acoustically, visually and olfactorally separates the
Sukkah interior from the cities exuberance, allowing the naturalized interior atmosphere, views to
the sky and the interior space to be enjoyed without distraction. The interior, protected by the
thick envelope can become the place of focused celebration, reading and eating where visceral,
cerebral, familial or ritual activities can be enjoyed with equal pleasure. From the outside, the
primitive anamorphic form allows the Sukkah to sit on various terrains, sloped, stepped and flat.
At night its glowing flesh alludes to the activities held within, shadows cast against its walls and
noises muffled by thick volumes of air. Its crown, a ring of bamboo stakes held in place by
engorged vinyl walls hold a thick cylindrical mat of draped eucalyptus leaves that shade and
perfume the interior.
The Sukkah is entered through a low opening on one side obscured by a loosely draped
interior lining of Spanish moss. This moss is pushed aside and one ducks to enter the Sukkah
physically marking the threshold and transporting the entrant to another world far separate from
Union Square. Upon entering the Sukkah one’s gaze is drawn upward past the moss-lined
interior, through the elliptically twisting eucalyptus leaves to the sky, framed 18 feet above the
pillow-covered ground. The ground is loosely scattered with ground pillows accommodating
multiple postures associated with the various activities that can occur.
