Buying, Selling, and Building Air

[Image: A "wind tunnel model of the New York Trade Center (study by Drs. J.E.Cermak and A.G. Davenport in the Colorado State University boundary layer wind tunnel for L.E. Robertson of Worthington, Skilling, Helle and Jackson (1964)," via Studio-X NYC].

Nicola Twilley of Edible Geography has put together an amazing event this coming Tuesday evening, October 8, at my former employer, Studio-X NYC, an event space run by the architecture department at Columbia University. Called "Air: Its Contents, Value, and Motion," the event looks at air rights in New York, the challenge of structurally engineering against air, winds, and hurricanes in some of the world's largest buildings, and a slightly more philosophical take on air's contents—its pollen, pollution, and even aerosolized fats.

A pretty jaw-dropping cast of panelists—writer William Bryant Logan, air rights lawyer Robert Von Ancken, and legendary structural engineer Leslie Robertson—will discuss, as the event describes it, air, "the stuff between buildings."

In the process, they "will share their perspective on the curious logic of the city's air rights economy, how the wind has sculpted its facades, and how the content of its air differs by neighborhood."

The event is free, kicks off at 7pm, and is at 180 Varick Street, Suite 1610, on the 16th floor. Here's a map.