The Collectivity Project

Last Thursday, artist Olafur Eliasson, with some architects from the area (OMA, Field Operations, Steven Holl, DS+R, BIG, etc.), unveiled The Collectivity Project on the High Line at 30th Street. It looked like this:

[Photo by Timothy Schenck, courtesy of Friends of the High Line]

Two days later, when I visited with my wife, our daughter, and some friends, it looked more like this:




My wife overheard somebody who worked at one of the participating architecture firms say that their "building" was completely unrecognizable. For me, the most signature model from the ones shown at top is the OMA contribution in the left foreground, a mini version of their unbuilt 23 West 22nd Street project (a design meant for LEGOs really). With only a bit of the walls with windows intact, the design looked pedestrian:


So as quickly as 36 hours the creations of notable architects were reduced to rubble, in some cases, or strange hybrids. Their creations will be something else entirely by the time The Collectivity Project ends in late September. There's a lesson here somewhere, but all I know is my daughter really enjoyed it, and I can't imagine any kid who wouldn't: