31 in 31: #16

This is a series for August 2010 which documents my on-the-ground -- and on-the-webs -- research for my guidebook to contemporary NYC architecture (to be released next year by W. W. Norton). Archives can be found at the bottom of the post and via the 31 in 31 label.



Previously I've posted about Big Bambú, the Doug + Mike Starn installation inhabiting a portion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's roof. It is "a growing and changing sculpture―a vast network of 5,000 interlocking 30- and 40-foot-long fresh-cut bamboo poles, lashed together with 50 miles of nylon rope." Visitors can traverse the installation via walkways integrated into the construction. To date I haven't been able to do so; the above photo, taken from a walkway just west of the museum, is as close as I've gotten to Big Bambú. Yet this image illustrates an extra part of the piece's obvious appeal: it grows to take on a presence beyond its rooftop footprint. As much as I'd love to see it extend all the way down to the ground, providing a link from Central Park to the roof, the nest-like appearance above the glass skylights is just alien enough to strike my fancy.

Previously:

#1 - Phyto Universe
#2 - One Bryant Park
#3 - Pier 62 Carousel
#4 - Bronx River Art Center
#5 - The Pencil Factory
#6 - Westbeth Artists' Housing
#7 - 23 Beekman Place
#8 - Metal Shutter Houses
#9 - Bronx Box
#10 - American Academy of Arts and Letters
#11 - FDR Four Freedoms Park
#12 - One Madison Park
#13 - Pio Pio Restaurant
#14 - Queens West (Stage II)
#15 - 785 Eighth Avenue