Since 1987, Allan McCollum has been working on a project to create - without repeating - enough shapes to match the number of people on the planet when the population "peaks" in the middle of the 21st century.

More than 1,000 of these unique shapes, which are derived from a system of 300 "parts", will fill an entire wall of the reading room at Elmhurst Community Library from floor to ceiling. Cut from plywood, the shapes will be given a veneer of natural elm that references the tree for which Elmhurst was named.

The Elmhurst Community Library serves the borough of Queens, one of the most culturally diverse communities in the world. It is the artist's intention that this collection of individual shapes comes to represent simultaneously both the commonality and the diversity of the Elmhurst community.

Project Team

Allan McCollum Studio
Artist Allan McCollum
Project Manager Marcie Paper 
Studio Manager Celina Paiz 
Assistant Studio Manager Adele Roeder 
Assistant Graphic Designer Viola Yesiltac 

Friedrich Petzel Gallery
President Friedrich Petzel
Artist Liaison Vera Alemani 

Caitlin Shey Consultation
Artist Liaison Caitlin Shey

Conner Pollack Productions
CNC Fabricator Jon Conner 

Marpillero Pollak Architects
Principal Sandro Marpillero AIA 
Project Architect Linda Pollak AIA 
Project Manager Kimberlae Saul AIA
Former Project Manager Kara Koirtyohann 
Designer Karl-Erik Larson 
Designer Ann Ha 
Designer Taigo Itadani 
Designer Trevor H. Taub 

See/Arch
Principal Thomas Thompson 

Department of Cultural Affairs
Commissioner Kate D. Levin
Assistant Commissioner of Capital Projects Susan Chin FAIA
Percent for Art Director and Design Commission Liaison Sara Reisman
Percent for Art Deputy Director Kelly Pajek 
Percent for Art Fellow Charlotte Ickes

Department of Design and Construction
Commissioner David J. Burney FAIA
Deputy Commissioner David A. Resnick AIA
Associate Commissioner Frank D'Arpino
Assistant Commissioner Sergio Silveira RA
Assistant Commissioner and Design Commission Liaison Margot Woolley AIA
Director of Creative Services Victoria Milne 
Director of Architecture Ron Tagliagambe RA
Deputy Program Director Gregory Pertsov RA
Program Director Frank Connor
Senior Design Liaison Faith Rose RA
Senior Design Project Manager Anthony Mayer
Construction Project Manager Mario Siriban 
A&E Team Leader Pieter Kramer RA 
Percent for Art Liaison Xenia Diente 

Queens Library
Chief Executive Officer Thomas W. Galante
Chief Operating Officer Maureen T. O'Connor
Director of Capital and Facilities Management Peter Magnani AIA 
Director of Community Library Services Dale McNeill
Director of Capital Management and Design Commission Liaison Anthony Romeo AIA
Director of Facilities Dennis Verriello 
Assistant Director of Community Library Services Manuel Figueroa
Assistant Director of Library Services Ruth Herzberg
Project Manager Antonios Milatos 
Library Planner Chantal Antoine