11 gennaio - / 2011, New York
The Skyscraper Museum in New York City presents Vertical Urban Factory, a special exhibition guest-curated by Nina Rappaport, architectural historian, critic, and author, in collaboration with designers Studio Tractor Architects, MGMT Design, and filmmaker Eric Breitbart. Tracing the evolution of mass-production technologies and related social issues, the exhibition examines the architecture of city factories in sections: Modern, Contemporary, and New York. The underlying theme is the verticality of urban manufacturing—both historically and as a potential for renewed industrial uses. Vertical Urban Factory surveys more than 30 projects, including canonic examples of Modernism and new or recycled industrial architecture. The installation features over 200 photographs, diagrams, and drawings. Nine architectural models created for the exhibit using state-of the-art computer fabrication highlight a progressive design and construction. A series of films by documentary filmmaker Eric Breitbart use historical and contemporary footage to immerse the gallery visitor in the environment of conveyors systems and industrial processes. The exhibitionʼs art direction is the work of MGMT Design, known for its innovative installations for New Yorkʼs International Center of Photography and the Museum of Folk Art. For Vertical Urban Factory, the studio has created an annotated timeline of industry and its architecture. Central to the show are sections of refurbished roller conveyors repurposed by Studio Tractor Architects, on which photographs, drawings and architectural models are displayed. Info: http://verticalurbanfactory.org