A project that has been over 12 years in the making added an impressive accomplishment to its history on June 8th, 2011. The High Line, a New York City public park that was built on the remains of an elevated railroad track, added its second public section that day, bringing the total completed length of the park to one mile.

(all images via: Dezeen)

The amazing High Line park has a rich history going all the way back to the early 20th century when the elevated rail line was originally built. In the late 1990s when the line was in danger of being demolished, a neighborhood group called Friends of the High Line was formed to lobby for its preservation. The group was successful and the first phase of construction began in 2006.

The first section of the park was completed in 2009 and added a welcome new public recreation area to the neighborhood. The second section expanded the project’s impact on the neighborhood and the city as a whole.

Section two is both a continuation of the park and a new interpretation of the High Line’s revised relationship with the city. This new portion features a patch of lawn which visitors can use to socialize, sunbathe and relax, enjoying a unique chance to enjoy nature in the midst of an otherwise stark industrial neighborhood.

A viewing platform in the new park section allows visitors to look down on the main portion of the High Line while extensive lengths of benches give everyone a chance to sit down and relax in this unique green space.

The pathways on the High Line were intentionally designed with cracks between the pre-fab concrete sections. The cracks allow native grasses and other vegetation to reclaim the formerly barren surfaces.

Walkways fade from one direction to another, drawing an organic shape into the vivid green vegetation and perfectly blending the man-made elements of the park with the natural elements.

The project is a massive collaboration between the city and the Friends of the High Line, along with James Corner Field Operations, project lead, with Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Piet Oudolf. It is an excellent example of humans working in defense of both nature and the history of our man-made world.

It is understandably difficult to see the beauty in some abandoned buildings. The neglected and sometimes damaged areas can lead one to associate the structure with decay and ugliness rather than possibilities. Lighting designer Luisa Alvarez understands that shadows are a part of light; a necessary facet of any place’s beauty. She transformed an abandoned house into a color-filled wonderland using some unusual materials and a healthy amount of optimism.

(all images via: Inhabitat)

Not knowing what they would find inside the abandoned home, Alvarez and her group made their way into the shadowed building. Although they didn’t encounter any squatters (human or otherwise) they did find a lonely, empty home covered in graffiti. They then set about recreating it for just one night.

Using old color-tinted photographic negatives and gels, Alvarez created room dividers, window coverings and furnishings that filled the home with colors and silhouettes. After wrapping old chairs with strips of colorful negatives and lighting them from inside, mesmerizing blocks of colors were thrown onto the walls and other interior surfaces.

The project, called Habitando, also featured ropes of LED lights draped all throughout the building. Their changing colors gave a sense of movement and made the home feel lived-in once again. The negatives hanging over the windows featured silhouettes of people, creating phantom inhabitants that swayed and danced along the walls.

Using recycled materials, light and color, the team transformed the house – for one night only – into a humanized place. Given the state of disrepair it was in before they entered, it is likely that the home had not seen so much activity in a very long time.

There are amazing abandonments in America but the former Soviet Union has some of the most interesting, unique and strange abandoned buildings. The complex political, military and social history of the country has led to everything from almost-finished buildings abandoned before actual use and entire abandoned cities to chilling gulags in which tens of millions of prisoners met their end. Check here for some creatively adapted British military sea forts and also be sure to check out part two in this series of amazing Russian abandonments. Also see more under: 100+ Abandoned Buildings, Places and Property.

Post-Soviet Collapse Abandoned City

Abandoned City: Promyshlennyi, Russia was abandoned with the fall of the Soviet Union, cut off from communication with and support from the government. When utilities and electricity stopped working, people simply left to find a home and work elsewhere, leaving buildings behind and many belongings in the wreckage. Today, the remnants of the things they owned and buildings they inhabited remain relatively untouched.

Top-Secret Abandoned Submarine Base

Abandoned Submarine Base: Balakava is a small town on the Black Sea Coast that was once the secret home to a Soviet nuclear submarine base. People with resident family members were not even allowed to visit the town without special dispensation from the government. Today, all of the submarines are gone but the base remains remarkably intact and can be visited by urban explorers from around the world.

Abandoned Prison Camp Complex

Abandoned Prison: Like concentration camps in Europe, the gulags are unique to Russian history. Abandoned gulag buildings are the physical evidence of mass imprisonment, forced labor and tacitly approved extermination. “Roosevelt observed that capitalism is unequally divided riches while socialism is equally divided poverty. Gulag prison life meant an equal distribution of death among the rich and poor, old and young.”

Abandoned Unused and Unfinished Buildings

Abandoned (Never Used) Buildings: In most countries, abandonments remain in the wake of long-deserted structures that once saw heavy use. In Russia, some industrial, medical and administrative abandonments are merely the remnants of failed projects that were nearly completed but never put to use. In a way, these tell a unique kind of history .. a history of corrupt and confused leadership, a history absent of the normal metaphorical ghosts that haunt the halls of once-used structures. In short: a history of could-have-beens.

Abandoned Missile Silo Complex

Abandoned Missile Silo Complex: Of course, the breakup of the Soviet Union was followed by a significant nuclear disarmament leaving deserted silos scattered about the Russian countryside. The particular complex shown in the image above is located in Latvia and contains four silos as well as a central command and technical support bunker. Now decommissioned, some such silos are open for public tourist visitation.

Abandoned Waterfront Military Bunker

Abandoned Oceanside Fortress: Water fortifications were deemed necessary on the east coast of the Soviet Union to protect against possible attacks from Japan. In the southeast of Russia, Vladivostok is the largest port city on the Pacific Ocean. The fort and miles of tunnels featured in the photographs above have since fallen in disarray, but were once a highly prized (and extravagantly expensive) Russian defense construction project. Today it is a destination for Russian and other visitors complete with antiquated bombs and guided tours.

Abandoned Massive Heavy Equipment

Abandoned Heavy Equipment: It is somewhat hard to imagine how incredibly costly and complex industrial and communications machines could ever be worth abandoning, yet in Russia one finds giant mining contraptions and satellite arrays left largely to succumb to the elements. The giant communications dish above is the size of a soccer field yet sits essentially idle today.

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Amazing Abandoned Cities, Places and Property of the World

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