The Ark Hotel in China, being built over a period of six days.

Time lapse photography is almost as old as photography itself – the first recorded time lapse film was made in 1897 by Georges Méliès (Carrefour De L’Opera, or Crossroads of the Opera) . The technique has expanded out ability to perceive long-term and large-scale changes in the environment arguably more than any other – how flowers bloom, how the night sky changes over a year, how a skyscraper is built – these are visual concepts that had never before been ‘see-able’ in their entirety.

In the age of the megaproject, especially, time-lapse photography allows us to conceive of the process of building at a scale that we would never be able to imagine otherwise. Watching a skyline change over 35-years, like in one of the videos below, is an experience that would otherwise take half a lifetime and an amazing memory – and be  unique to a single person (though of course, there’s magic in that, too). Our favorite time-lapse construction & architecture videos, after the jump.

The Shinjuku Skyline over 35 years (’69-’04).

Building Beijing from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

The Three Classicists from RIBAJournal.com on Vimeo.

Public Farm 1 at PS1 time lapse construction video from david basulto on Vimeo.

Construction Time lapse Photography from Strategic Design on Vimeo.

Building Frank Gehry’s Serpetine Pavilion, 2008.

inter // states from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

Ecotricity’s video of 3 wind turbines being constructed in Bristol.

Cooper Union’s new building in Manhattan, by Thom Mayne and Morphosis.

by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

posted in top ten

tagged frank gehry, time lapse, videos, workac

more articles by Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan