Ambiguous spatial perceptions at a construction site

from the Artsology series The Arts Adventurer

I didn’t realize until after I took this picture how ambiguous the space appears to be … it seems like the construction workers are in some sort of geometrical fun house, with the strange triangular shapes and no view of the sky. In fact, the dark glass on the left side is probably at least 100 feet away, as it’s across the street and perhaps 30-40 feet behind where they’re standing, but it feels like an almost-flat background from this angle.


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construction workers at a Hudson Yards site in NYC

Here's a pair of images of the same construction project, from further back ... as you can see, it's like a puzzle of geometric shapes, all in a dense work area. These pictures were taken in November 2016, and now (a year later), the building appears to be finished, and from what I've found out, it's part of a big project called Manhattan West, which "... will be a thriving community made up of state-of-the-art custom designed office spaces, curated food, retail, pop-up experiences, abundant green space, homes and a boutique hotel."

construction workers at a site near Hudson Yards in NYC

Hudson Yards construction site with construction workers

I don't know why I've become so fascinated by the visual aspects of these construction sites in NYC lately ... maybe I've never paid much attention to construction before, but I also think there's something a bit more sophisticated and unusual about some of the funky architectural designs that are going up along the west side of Manhattan. The connecting beams above this guy's head (below left) have all sorts of protruding parts and are cut at odd angles that it's hard to tell what the final result is going to look like.

I like this image below right in the way that the different colors and shapes make it almost like an geometric abstract art work. The funny thing is that I'm often walking through this part of New York City on my way to see art gallery exhibitions in Chelsea, but I find observations about new architectural projects almost as interesting as the art.

construction worker at Manhattan West project in NYC

ambiguous architectural space at a Hudson Yards construction site




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