Diller Scofidio and the High Line

Last night I attended the Diller+Scofidio lecture about the High Line at the new IAC building designed by Frank Gehry.


Image by Matt

On the way in, my architect colleague pointed out the gap between the building base and the walls, and then proceeded to stick his entire foot into the gap. Whoops.


Image by Matt

The lecture was great. I have never heard them speak, but the process that led to their design solutions was actually very clear, and there were many public considerations incorporated into their design. We saw some renderings for the High Line, as well as for Lincoln Center, and I liked the design ideas. I can't wait for the High Line to open, which will be next summer, at least from Gansevoort Street to 23rd.





One idea for Lincoln Center has been implemented at my alma mater, albeit in a much more mild form for the university setting. It is the sloping park over the restaurant...only at Cornell, it is over the campus bookstore - there is grass on top of the bookstore structure, though I don't think the grass is accessible.



The park on the bookstore is interesting, though not quite successful, mostly because you can't see anything that's going on around the campus when you are in the park - and there's nothing up there to keep you up there. From the Diller+Scofidio rendering, it looks like the park will provide views of the pedestrian traffic in the larger Lincoln Center plaza, which will help the park significantly. I can also imagine people buying food from the cafe and taking it up to the park to enjoy.

I'm looking forward to seeing more.