High Line designs on show.

The four finalists in the competition to design New York City's new High Line will present their designs in a "4 Visions 4 teams" exhibition at the Center for Architecture this month.

The four world-renowned design teams presenting their visions are Field Operations with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Olafur Eliasson, Piet Oudolf, and Buro Happold; Zaha Hadid Architects with Balmori Associates, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, and studio MDA; Steven Holl Architects with Hargreaves Associates, and HNTB; TerraGRAM: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates with D.I.R.T. Studio and Beyer Blinder Belle. "4 Teams 4 Visions" is presented by Friends of the High Line (FHL), which works to create a public open space on the historic High Line elevated rail structure, and AIA New York Chapter's Center for Architecture, which explores architecture and urbanism with an emphasis on New York City.

FHL and the City of New York ran the selection process that led to the identification of the four finalist teams. Kurt Andersen, novelist and host of PRI's Studio 360, will moderate the July 15 panel discussion.

The exhibition will feature never-before-seen work by the four teams selected as finalists to create a master plan for the 1.5-mile-long High Line's conversion. The visions on view will inform the ultimate selection of a design team, expected later this summer. Work on the master plan is expected to begin in Fall 2004.

The exhibition marks the latest and most exciting stage in a five-year-old campaign to open the High Line to the public through federal "rails-to-trails" legislation.

The City of New York endorsed the project in December 2002 and has since been working with FHL to create a public open space on the High Line and provide a vital pedestrian link between the Meat Packing District, West Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards.

The exhibition runs July 16 to August 14 at Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place (Bleecker & West 3rd Street).