(NEW YORK TIMES) Matt A.V. Chain, November 4, 2018 — Zaha Hadid has designed some of the most remarkable buildings of this generation. Whether a striking factory for BMW, daring Olympic venues or museums in Rome, Glasgow and Cincinnati, the work of the Iraqi-born, London-based Ms. Hadid has brought her global renown and a Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s Nobel Prize.

Now she has tackled one of New York’s most intractable building problems: the ubiquitous and unloved sidewalk shed.

Construction is underway on Ms. Hadid’s first project in New York, 520 West 28th Street, and with it comes the inevitable shed, as emblematic of the city ’s landscape as the Empire State Building — though the only souvenirs they produce are mysterious stains and ripped clothing.

The city is entombed in nearly 200 miles of metal bars and plywood decking that protects pedestrians from falling debris and construction material — a claustrophobic labyrinth that could cover the sidewalks on both sides of Broadway several times over. Even the High Line has them, in six spots, including Ms. Hadid’s project.

Source: NYTIMES, The Sidewalk Shed, a Ubiquitous New York Eyesore, Gets a Makeover – The New York Times