Olafur Eliasson’s The Collectivity Project has taken over the newly-opened section of the High Line off West 30th Street with its playful, summer-ready vibe.
The interactive installation—created using two tons of white Lego bricks—encourages passersby to unleash their architecturally-inclined inner child to create a collaborative miniature city.
The project has previously be enacted in public squares in Tirana, Oslo, and Copenhagen; this installation marks its first time in North America.
To jump-start the process, ten of the city’s most prominent architecture firms, including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Bjarke Ingels Group, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and SHoP Architects contributed structures to the model city, which range from skyscrapers to a traditional Asian pagoda.
“Everyone can come and build their own ideas,” High Line director Cecilia Alemani told artnet News in an exclusive video interview. “We’re expecting lots of people coming…to just build and destroy and rebuild their ideal cities. Which is actually what’s happening right now all around New York City.”
Indeed, the project’s proximity to ongoing construction to the High Line is no accident. “We really wanted the piece to be here so people can really be inspired by what’s happening,” Alemani says. “We hope it will be a way of creating a platform for people to get together and share their ideas about the future.”
The Collectivity Project will be on the High Line at West 30th Street until September 30, 2015.