Remember the exciting debut of the soaring Urban Umbrella, the bright steel and plastic contraption that was to replace the horribly ugly construction scaffolding lining the streets? Remember, it won the urbanSHED design competition and was going to transform construction sites? Turns out that developers, surprise!, don't want to shell out the extra cash to pay for the fancy new sheds, which is why, 18 months after it was unveiled, there are none to be found on the city streets. Only one prototype stood for two months last winter.
Crain's reports that the Urban Umbrella costs 25 percent more than a standard shed (about $28,000 compared to $22,500), plus installation costs will be about four times more. Originally, the DOB said installation costs would be the same. Installation for scaffolding runs about $55 to $1000 a foot depending on the design, and since the Urban Umbrella has to be fabricated for each specific location, using the new sheds would be very pricey and labor-intensive.
· Urban Umbrella: Winner on Ice [Crain's]
· urbanSHED coverage [Curbed]
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