Big Bambu a Big Hit

By Claudine Zap
Something strange and wonderful is growing on the rooftop garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Against the concrete walls of the city scape of Manhattan's Upper East Side, a spiky protuberance of bambu lashed together with climbing rope by some brave and hearty souls has sprouted.
Under its shadow, on this night, the curious come to gaze up underneath the organic dome, while the more adventurous have signed on to explore some of the bridges built inside the walls, some as high as 50 feet above the ground. Which is to say, above the rooftop. Which is to say, high.
A rock climber, Colleen, was on hand to admire her work (yes, amazingly, this is her job) -- and perhaps enjoy a moment of rest before the next work day. While the twin brother photographers Doug and Mike Starn designed it, it's a team of people like Colleen who have made this work-in-progress come to life. The bambu building is not complete, even though it already takes up the entire roof deck. It is getting higher. It already includes 4,000 pieces of bambu, and spans 100 feet long and 50 feet wide.
See the Flickr slideshow here. And, if you're in NYC, as I am for BlogHer, go see it yourself.