Water from Above

Taking a look up at New York's most omnipresent, and most ignored, infrastructure.

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When I was thirteen, I visited New York for the first time. As I looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of a skyscraper, some oddly shaped structures caught my attention. I mistook them to be abandoned and kept them in my mind as nostalgic objects. Years later, I returned to this city to learn that these structures effectively supply water from above to one of the most populous places on earth. And yet they remain invisible to many.

I developed this project as my thesis for my MA in Media Studies at the New School. The idea was to turn people’s heads toward the unseen yet necessary structures of the city. I have always strived to find beauty in unlikely places; I blame the American author Henry Miller for that.

Gala Lutteroth is an NYC–based filmmaker, born and raised in Mexico City. Since completing her MA at the New School in May, her “Water From Above” film has screened at the New York Architecture and Design Film Festival.