The Power of Photography: How Images Continue to Shape the Built Environment – ArchDaily
In our current era, one of the most widely recognized photographs of this decade is certainly Iwan Baan’s image of Lower Manhattan flooded and in darkness in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In the photograph, taken from a helicopter over the New York Bay, the city grid north of 39th street glows as normal, while Downtown is a black void, except for the World Trade Center site and parts of Battery Park City, lit with an auxiliary generator.
Baan’s image of Lower Manhattan, while not singular in shaping the discussions of a more storm-ready city, has certainly been used as an icon for resiliency measures that will make New York better prepared in the future.