Like some sort of Island of Misfit Toys, an entirely different New York City could be created purely out of the structures that were designed for the city but never built. Buckminster Fuller’s giant Dome Over Manhattan, I.M. Pei’s Hyperboloid, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s plans for Ellis Island would, individually, have significantly altered the City That Never Sleeps. Together, however, these projects, and hundreds of others that were never realized, would have created a New York City that is drastically different from the one that exists today.
A new exhibition, coming to the Queens Museum in September 2017, will create a gallery dedicated to rarely seen models, sketches, and drawings of dozens of structures designed for New York City but never built. As part of the exhibit, more than 70 models will be installed to the museum’s Panorama of the City of New York, a scale model of Manhattan originally commissioned for the 1964 World’s Fair.
A small portion of the Panorama of the City of New York. Image courtesy of Metropolis Books
The Queens Museum launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to reach a goal of $35,000 to support the installation of the gallery. In addition to showing some of the more imaginative concepts that were never built, the exhibition will also “explore the backstory behind how and why New York City came to look the way it does,” according to the project’s Kickstarter page.
The goal of the exhibit is to showcase many of the fascinating New York projects that never came to fruition and to show how issues such as ecological sustainability, population displacement, and economic inequity are linked to the built environment
Buckminster Fuller's Dome Over Manhattan. Image courtesy of Metropolis Books
Greg Goldin and Sam Lubell have curated the exhibit with models designed by Studio Christian Wassmann. The models are being purpose-built by students in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Goldin and Lubell previously created a Never Built Los Angeles exhibit in 2013 that was on display at the A+D Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles.
Rufus Gilbert's Elevated Railway. Image courtesy of Metropolis Books
Related Stories
| May 17, 2013
40 Under 40 winners: Meet the architects
Of the up-and-coming AEC professionals to be named 40 Under 40 winners by the editors of Building Design+Construction, 18 make their living in the architecture profession.
| May 17, 2013
5 things AEC pros need to know about low-e glass
Low-emissivity glasses are critical to making today’s buildings brighter, more energy-efficient, and more sustainable. Here are five tips to help AEC professionals understand the differences among low-e glasses and their impact on building performance.
| May 17, 2013
University labs double as K-12 learning environments
Increasingly, college and university research buildings are doing double duty as homes for K-12 STEM programs. Here’s how to create facilities that captivate budding scientists while keeping faculty happy.
| May 17, 2013
LEED v4 has provision to reduce water use in cooling towers
The next version of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system will expand water-savings targets to appliances, cooling towers, commercial kitchen equipment, and other areas.
| May 16, 2013
Chicago unveils $1.1 billion plan for DePaul arena, Navy Pier upgrades
Hoping to send a loud message that Chicago is serious about luring tourism and entertainment spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released details of two initiatives that have been developing for more than a year and that it says will mean $1.1 billion in investment in the McCormick Place and Navy Pier areas.
| May 16, 2013
Michael R. Bohn named Executive VP at Gilbane
Gilbane has promoted Michael R. Bohn to executive vice president. With over 28 years of service to the company and leadership roles on such high-profile projects as the University of Michigan Biomedical Science Building and the University of Chicago Medical Center, Bohn will now have responsibility for Gilbane’s New York and Midwest business units.
| May 15, 2013
Schneider Electric announces Global Xperience Efficiency Events for 2013
Schneider Electric’s Xperience Efficiency series will begin with events in the United States, China, Colombia, Brazil and Russia.
| May 15, 2013
Center for Green Schools, Architecture for Humanity release new tool for green schools
The 70-page guide demystifies the processes of identifying building improvement opportunities and finance and implementation strategies.
| May 14, 2013
Paints and coatings: The latest trends in sustainability
When it comes to durability, a 50-year building design ideally should include 50-year coatings. Many building products consume substantial amounts of energy, water, and petrochemicals during manufacture, but they can make up for it in the operations phase. The same should be expected from architectural coatings.
