What are they building in there? HBO’s Cube takes shape.

If you’ve been up at the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW today, you’ve no doubt noticed the freestanding scaffolding and truck parked there on the plaza. No, it’s not construction beginning on the controversial plaza sculpture (that’s been tabled for the moment), but rather a temporary art installation — or advertisement, depending upon your level of cynicism — from HBO and their “Imagine” project.

Imagine is meant to be, according to a press release from the cable network, “an expression and embodiment of the HBO philosophy — to be the preeminent source of entertainment experiences that change perspectives, defy expectations and challenge the status quo.” The project has been assembled by an ad agency, BBDO, and in addition to an interactive web experience, includes the Cube, a traveling 16×16 foot, four sided movie screen. Two 2-minute films, each shot from four different perspectives, are shown in rotation. Each perspective is projected simultaneously on each of the four screens, so viewers can only get the full story of the films by moving around the cube and watching from all sides.

The Cube already made appearances in New York and Philadelphia prior to D.C.’s turn, which lasts from tomorrow through Saturday. Conceptually, this sounds like the sort of installation that might have fit right in during last year’s fantastic Cinema Effect exhibit at the Hirshhorn. At the very least, it should give the weekend partiers something to drunkenly gawk at while trying to hail a cab in Adams Morgan.