‘rising currents: projects for new york’s waterfront’ in this MoMA show, a model by architecture research office marries a whol new landscape to lower manhattan’s streets.

‘rising currents: projects for a new york’s waterfront’ is a exhibition collaboratively organized by MoMA, the museum of modern art and P.S.1 contemporary art center to address one of the most urgent challenges facing new york city: rising sea-level resulting from global climate change.

though the national debate on infrastructure is currently focused on “shovel-ready” projects that will stimulate the economy, there is now an important opportunity to foster new research and fresh thinking about the use of new york city’s harbor and coastline.

MoMA: the rising current the rising currents project zone map. each of the interdisciplinary architectural teams were assigned a different zone as their design challenge. image courtesy of palisade bay team, architecture research office

MoMA: the rising current aerial view of palisade bay. image courtesy palisade bay team: guy nordenson and associates, catherine seavitt studio, architecture research office

an architects-in-residence program at P.S.1 contemporary art center brings together five interdisciplinary teams to re-envision the coastlines of new york and new jersey around new york harbor and to imagine new ways to occupy the harbor itself with adaptive “soft” infrastructures that are sympathetic to the needs of a sound ecology. the list of teams leaders for each respective zone includes:

zone 0: stephen cassell, adam yarinsky, architecture research office zone 1: paul lewis, marc tsurumaki, and david j. lewis of LTL architects zone 2: matthew baird of matthew baird architects zone 3: eric bunge and mimi hoang of nArchitects zone 4: kate orff of SCAPE Studio

behind the scenes of ‘the rising current’

MoMA: the rising current a proposal by nArchitects shows a series of artificial islands on which residential housing is suspended. image © nArchitects

the installations presenting the proposals developed during the architects-in-residence program, include a wide array of models, drawings, and analytical materials. the exhibition is taking place at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and can be visited till october 11.

MoMA: the rising current ARO team’s installation of wall materials and models inside P.S.1 gallery