This is Part 2 of High Line: I ♥ NY. Yesterday’s post is here.
Looking westward, the High Line offers direct view of Hudson River and New Jersey. The view is interrupted by a few old factory buildings to which the elevated railway was connected, and new office and residential buildings designed by star architects. In the photo, a lighted seating area of the park (dark rectangular frames with lights on top) can be seen in front of the buildings.
The High Line provides a view of the south side of the IAC building by Frank Gehry. The NY Times reviewed the building in 2007:
Glimpsed between Chelsea’s weathered brick buildings, its strangely chiseled forms reflect the surrounding sky, so that its surfaces can seem to be dissolving. As you circle to the north, however, its forms become more symmetrical and sharp-edged, evoking rows of overlapping sails or knifelike pleats. Viewed from the south, the forms appear more blocky. This constantly changing character imbues the building’s exterior with an enigmatic beauty. (click here for the full article)
Across W19th Street from Gehry’s IAC building is Jean Nouvel’s 23-storey luxury condos – known as “100 11th”. According to the condo’s web site:
The building’s gently curving curtain wall of different sized panes of colorless glass – each set in a unique angle and torque – will sheath one of the most meticulously customized, high performance residential addresses in the nation. This dazzling window pattern will frame splendid views from within the tower while producing an exterior texture that serves as a poetic analog for the vibrancy, density and changeability of New York City.
A few years ago, we visited the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul. Among the museum’s three buildings, we loved Jean Nouvel’s building the most (the other two were designed by Mario Botta and Rem Koolhaas). We did not have a chance to get close to these two buildings, but judging from a distance on the High Line, I prefer Frank Gehry’s.
The High Line park is designed by James Corner Field Operations (lead architect) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. ☜ Do check out Diller Scofodio’s fancy web site and user interface.
The Hudson and New Jersey
IAC Building on West Side Highway
Chelsea Piers’s driving range (left), IAC building, and 100 11th; vegetation on High Line (front)
IAC Building
