When scaffolding gives them lemons, developers make lemon trees

Given the strong feelings on the subject, it’s no wonder that alternative designs have sprung up in New York City. Urban Umbrella has made a name for itself with its tall, elegant and vaguely Gothic scaffolding.

Although they are three or four times more expensive than standard scaffolding, which typically rents between $ 80 and $ 150 per linear foot, Urban Umbrella’s designs are popular with customers who care about their appearance, such as boutiques. and museums. Scaffolding can be fitted with LED lights to illuminate sidewalks and fans to keep things cool in the summer. Music can be streamed through bluetooth speakers.

CookFox Architects took a different approach on a recent project, proposing permanent structures that would eliminate the endless cycle of setting up and taking down curbside shelters. When DBI Projects, a consultant, held a design competition for a master plan for Seward Park Cooperative, a residential complex on the Lower East Side, the entrance to CookFox featured curved canopies, topped with plants, providing shade and greenery while they performed their protective function.

In other cities, sidewalk sheds have taken different forms.

Shipping containers were recently put into service in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Portman Holdings, which is erecting a 16-story office building in the South End, next to a popular rail trail. To ensure that the public could continue to use the path, 11 of the steel containers, their ends removed, were placed in a row, creating a 440-foot tunnel.

Gensler, who designed the Portman building, specified the colorful patterns painted on the tunnel.

“Why do wooden fences do this sort of thing?” Asked John W. Gaulten, architect and co-CEO of Gensler’s Charlotte office.