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New York City
Vortex Lighting
By William Weathersby, Jr.
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Photo ©
Elliott Kaufman
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A light show of pulsating color, designed
by Anne Militello of Vortex Lighting, emanates from the facade
of the 42nd Street Studios to create its own form of street
theater in the heart of New York City's Broadway. One of the
last legs in the redevelopment of 42nd Street, the 10-story
structure houses rehearsal studios, office space, and a 199-seat
black box theater to serve the professional Broadway theatrical
community. Collaborating with Platt Byard Dovell Architects,
Militello lit the facade of the building with DMX-controlled
lighting that changes in a choreographed wash of lighting
effects. The lighting fixtures are set within a steel-blade
armature of perforated louvered fins on each of seven floors
of the building. A 175-foot vertical light spire on the west
side of the facade cross-fades smoothly through the entire
color spectrum. Windows on the front of the building are partially
covered in lightweight curtain material that act as a scrim
inside; The curtains are frontlit from inside the studios
to create a background glowing effect when viewed from the
street. While nearby Times Square is famous for its spectacular
array of neon-lit signage, rarely has an entire building come
to life with such spectacular showmanship. To
read the entire story see the November, 2000 issue of Architectural
Record. Plus, see the people
and products behind the making of this project.
 Architecturalrecord.com
presents two exclusive videos of the changing lighting patterns
on the facade of the New 42nd Street Studios.
Please note you will
need Real Player to view these videos. A free version can
can easily be downloaded from the Real Player web site.
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