A Mighty City Constructed On A Series Of Variably-Sized Hilly Islands Linked By Bridges

[Image: A Mighty City Constructed On A Series Of Variably-Sized Hilly Islands Linked By Bridges by Leah Beeferman].

Brooklyn-based artist Leah Beeferman, whose map of the Gowanus Canal appeared here in 2005 and who collaborated with BLDGBLOG on the Helicopter Archipelago, has a new project out, this time published in the full-color pages of this month's Blueprint.
Called A Mighty City Constructed On A Series Of Variably-Sized Hilly Islands Linked By Bridges, the project is a kind of cartographic guide, or urban emblem, for a utopian city. It supplies working definitions of key terrain (a Bridge, a Hill, a Tunnel, an Island) and describes specifically numbered structures.
"A bridge," for instance, according to Leah's definition, "is a structure built to connect two previously distinct areas or coasts. In most cases, it creates a route of passage that would otherwise be impossible or difficult. Bridges are often named after what they cross."

[Image: Excerpt from A Mighty City by Leah Beeferman].

All of Leah's projects being worth paying close attention to, we then see that one of those bridges has actually been constructed "from a collection of the longest and tallest buildings in the world" – their spans and fragments stitched together to form a brand new structure.
There is also a bridge "made out of a building," and a bridge "made from a collection of small hills."
Further afield – and into the atmosphere – we find a strange hovering enginery above the skyline: "Flying machines for higher-up views of the city," we read, "provide an excellent view of the islands."
There are even "propeller-powered balconies, for long-term viewing of the surrounding landscape – from the comfort of home!"
Leah's Mighty City is apparently just one installment in Blueprint's ongoing look at imaginary cities or paper utopias, as it were; keep your eyes peeled for the rest – but don't forget to visit Leah Beeferman's website for more cool projects, including her amazing Step-by-Step Process of Building a Landscape of Freshly Fallen Hills into an Industrious Winged City.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for flagging this up, Geoff. Couldn't have described the Paper City section of the magazine any better than you have. We've had other contributions from illustrator / architects like Nigel Peake and artist / illustrators like Sara Fanelli.

We first came across Leah's work when reading Cabinet magazine and our interest in Utopias was encourage by writers such as yourself. Thank you Yanks.

January 19, 2007 11:45 AM  
Blogger Geoff Manaugh said...

Hey Blueprint - No problem.

January 20, 2007 5:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

cool paper work!
i admire the imaginary visions of this artist

January 22, 2007 6:59 AM  

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