Friday, February 22, 2008

Manhattan Timeformations

Manhattan Timeformations is an online representation of the Manhattan’s urban space. The project utilizes 3D computer modeling to “depict the dynamic relationship between Manhattan's skyscrapers and other layers of urban information such as geologic formation, settlement patterns, landfill, transportation and communications infrastructure, zoning laws and real estate cycles.”

This digital project adds a wholly new dimension to the panoptic gaze of the city. The versatility of this utility allows one to appreciate Manhattan from not only a traditional cartographic perspective, but also from new and unusual angles, such as this perspective fly-through.

In Transparent New York, the urban infrastructure of Manhattan is dissected neatly into layers which can be viewed individually or together.

The virtual space of Manhattan Timeformations introduces a new way of seeing the city. It enables one to literally see through all the steel and concrete, and appreciate the spatial and geographic organization of the city in an elegant and purely geometric form.