Hadid curves fabric not concrete for New York Highline pedestrian shelter

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It appears Zaha Hadid’s neofuturistic tendencies have no bounds, after images emerged from the USA showing the Pritzker Prize winner’s trademark curving architecture all over her latest project—a pedestrian construction shelter for the New York Highline.

Located in the heart of Manhattan’s cultural district in West Chelsea, ‘Allongé is a swooping canopy that offers a unique take on stock-standard canopies and steel sheds, traditionally erected to protect pedestrians from construction debris.

Photography by: Scott Frances

Based adjacent to Hadid’s 520 West 28^th Street project, the 34-metre-long canopy was designed to give New Yorkers a sneak preview of the swooping forms of her newest building, scheduled for occupancy in 2016.

Constructed of silver metallic fabric stretched over a curvilinear metal frame, the installation forms a pedestrian tunnel that sits beneath a solid black shed.

TOP: A curved fabric tunnel protects pedestrians on the New York Highline. Photography by: Scott Frances
ABOVE: Hadid's 11-storey apartment block for West 28th Street. Image: ZHA

Inspired by “the connectivity and dynamism of movement along the highline”, Hadid’s Allongé sits above a popular Manhattan park that was formerly a derelict railway.

Hadid told Designboom that she had always been fascinated by the highline, and all its possibilities for the city.

“Decades ago, I used to visit the galleries in the area to consider how to build along the route. It’s very exciting to be building there now,” says Hadid.