FLATIRON High and Low
An exhibition presented by Van Alen Institute in cooperation with the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership
OPENING RECEPTION: Tuesday, October 27, 6:30-8:30pm
EXHIBITION: October 28—December 11, Mon—Fri 12-5pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: Tuesday, November 3, 6:30-8:30pm
Van Alen Institute, in cooperation with the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership, is pleased to present "Flatiron High and Low," an exhibition of photographs, architects' renderings, vintage views, and film footage spotlighting two centuries of building culture in the Flatiron district. The exhibition imaginatively explores the multiple meanings of high and low—from height and cost to technology and culture—and showcases the built juxtapositions, typological mixtures, and architectural inventions characteristic of this Manhattan neighborhood.
In addition to the Flatiron's centerpiece park and namesake building, the exhibition will include a variety of built and unbuilt projects representative of the district’s history: charitable hospices and high-end hotels, popular entertainment venues and high-culture institutions, ephemeral spectacles and high-tech enterprises. Among the featured projects will be Roger Ferri's visionary "green" skyscraper of 1976, an unbuilt project for the northeast corner of Madison Square Park.
The exhibition is curated by architectural historian Joan Ockman and designed by architect Eunjeong Seong. Urban archivist Miriam Berman, author of Madison Square: The Park and Its Celebrated Landmarks, is the exhibition consultant, and selections from her collection of vintage postcards will be on view in the show. Participants in the panel discussion will be architect Shohei Shigematsu, partner in the Office for Metropolitan Architecture and director of OMA*AMO New York; Robert A.M. Stern, founder and senior partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture; Carol Willis, architectural historian and founder of the Skyscraper Museum; and James Wines, artist, architect, and founder of SITE, the multidisciplinary architecture and environmental arts organization. The moderator will be Deborah Berke, principal of Deborah Berke and Partners Architects and professor of architectural design at Yale. RSVPs (events@flatironbid.org) are required for the panel discussion.
Special walking tours based on the exhibition will be offered by the Flatiron Partnership. An opening reception, free and open to the public, will take place at Van Alen Institute on Tuesday, October 27, 6:30pm.
The exhibition is made possible by sponsorship and support from Newmark Knight Frank, managing and leasing agent for the Flatiron Building and 230 Fifth Avenue; the Ace Hotel, 20 West 29th Street; ’wichcraft, 11 East 20th Street; FotoCare, photography and printing specialists at 41 West 22nd Street; and Avery Digital Fabrication Lab at Columbia University.
