On The Waterfront, An Ephemeral Museum

Like “The Gates” in Central Park, an exhibition of large-scale photographs on Pier 54 in Manhattan is not aimed at procrastinators — and neither is the new museum built to house it. After a three-month run, the show and the museum, designed by Shigeru Ban, will head for California. “The entire museum is to be packed in 37 of the 148 cargo containers that form its checkerboard walls. The temporary structure is composed largely of recyclable materials: the roof and columns are made of paper tubes, the steel containers stacked 34 feet high are used, and a handmade curtain to be suspended from the ceiling is made of one million pressed paper tea bags (used, with the tea leaves removed).”