In this third dispatch from New York, Kosme de Barañano shares the current state of construction on two structures that will undoubtedly become new milestones in the network of globalized public space—a symptom of the sculptural turn in architectures designed for this type of consumption. The shed and the staircase: two very different constructions that somehow pose an age-old question: are they sculptures, or are they architecture?

In this fourth and final installment of his New York chronicles, Kosme de Barañano from the ARKRIT Collective poses a two-part question: on one hand, a new architectural “type” has emerged in an extraordinarily limited “ecological” niche—the super-slender skyscraper designed for luxury residences around Central Park—and, on the other, the construction of “installations” where some architects experiment in a new field where architecture shares territory with sculpture.

Colectivo ARKRIT has shared a chronicle by Kosme de Barañano on the physical—and perhaps also social and economic—reconstruction of New York in 2018, following the devastation of the Twin Towers attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. His extensive, wide-ranging work spans surprising European references, New York management systems, contemporary formal architectural exuberance, and bold proposals for public space design.

In this first chapter, Kosme de Barañano describes the new development known as 'Hudson Yards.'

In this second installment on the ongoing transformations in New York City, Kosme de Barañano focuses on the project that, at the turn of the 21st century, triggered one of the city's most profound transformations: the High Line park.