Remaking a construction method used since the time of the pyramids: no easy task, despite the snap judgments imposed by the Curbediverse on last year's urbanSHED competition, an RFP of sorts for remaking the city's 190 miles of sidewalk scaffolding. The winner, a prototype of "gracefully melded recycled steel and translucent plastic panels into a structure that resembles an open umbrella" designed by Young-Hwan Choi, Andres Cortes and Sarrah Kahn from Agencie Group, will debut in December around the perimeter of 100 Broadway, a 24-story building in the Financial District. DOB commissioner Robert LiMandri admits that while the existing norm for sidewalk sheds are "really ugly," the new design is not mandatory because the city imposes requirements defined primarily by safety, not looks. Installation costs about the same as the typical steel pipes/used plywood version, engineered back in the 1950s.
· Coming Soon to the Sidewalks: A New Look for Scaffolding [City Room]
· City Picks Winner in Construction Site Beautification Contest [Curbed]
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