Posted on Monday, October 13th, 2014 by Will Hagle
High Rise is an interactive documentary film project that details a short history of The Highrise.
Using material from the The New York Times archives, High Rise tells the story of architecture familiar to New Yorkers and many major cities throughout the world. 
The site hosts several short films that explore the history and background of civilizations building upwards into the sky, using a mix of animation, photographs, narration and other filmmaking and storytelling techniques. High Rise is separated into four parts. The first part is entitled “Mud,” and it features narration by musician and Broken Social Scene member Feist. The second part, narrated by Katerina Cizek, is called “Concrete.” Part 3, “Glass,” is narrated by Cold Specks and the final part, “Home,” is narrated by Patrick Watson. The project was created in conjunction with the National Film Board of Canada’s ongoing Highrise project.
Each segment in High Rise offers a different take on the same story of high rise creation and living. In addition to the narrative films, there’s the option to click and explore a wide range of interactive features hosted on the site. 
The interactive elements vary based on which segment of the film you’re currently watching, but include a mix of user-submitted photographs and stories as well as unique, historical animations. The project encourages community discussion and feedback with a comment section as well as a “Reader Gallery,” which offers images and stories submitted by users about living in high rise buildings in locations and cities around the world. The interactive experience offers the ability to learn new things about architecture, the places we live and the cities we’ve built. It’s an awesome experience, and one that could be explored for hours as you uncover new details, information, and exciting features.
