048
PUBLIC REALM PROJECTS / 230 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK, USA
Built in 1929 and standing 34 storeys high, New York City’s 230 Park Avenue was once considered one of the taller structures on Manhattan’s skyline. Though dwarfed by the towering Chrysler and Empire State buildings that were built just months later, its Beaux-Arts style and links with the iconic Grand Central Terminal (both were the work of architects Warren & Wetmore) have ensured its enduring status as a New York classic.
Despite 230’s golden cupola and various ornate moldings providing key features of its daytime presence, the building had been rendered virtually invisible at night; only its lit rooftop was discernible from a distance. Owners Monday Properties decided to rectify this by hiring The Lighting Practice to create a bold new lighting design for the site.
“The existing lighting used high-pressure so- dium sources to illuminate the roof,” says Al Borden, principal at The Lighting Practice. “The rest of the building was in shadow. At night, it seemed to blend into the facades of surrounding buildings and disappear.” Borden’s team was tasked with rebranding the building with a lit exterior that would be immediately recognisable from both up close and afar. “We were asked to illuminate the build- ing from the sidewalk up to the top of the cupola on the north side, and to wrap the lighting treatment around the east, south and west sides of the building at the 29th floor and up,” Borden recounts. “Our intent has been to give the building a lively night- time appearance by re-interpreting its his- toric forms and proportions with concealed uplight sources. During daylight hours, when downlit by the sun, the building’s architec- tural details have a familiar appearance. At night, we flip the source upside down and present a new way of looking at the build- ing. People will see details very differently and have a new experience of the architec- ture.”
Over 700 colour-changing luminaires were used to create 230 Park Avenue’s new nocturnal look, all of them drawn from Lumenpulse’s Lumenbeam and Lumenfacade ranges.
“Lumenpulse presented excellent project experience and a committed team,” says
The Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue straddles the New York traffic. Two giant tunnels at its base mark the entrance to the Park Avenue Viaduct. 3’ and 4’ Lumenfacade Color Changing fixtures from Lumenpulse are used to illuminate the underside of the archways.
Lumenbeam LBX Color Changing and Lumenbeam Medium Color Changing fixtures located above the cornicing on the fifth floor are used to pick out the statues, medallions and entranceway.
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