Rebecca Maloney
Americas Press Office ,Boston
Arup’s lighting team received the Citation Award for the Innovative Use of Daylight and the Award of Excellence for two New York projects.
The Parrish Art Museum and the Lowline were honoured with awards by the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City (IESNYC) at their 46th annual gala. The citation-level award and the Award of Excellence, the highest-level award possible, were presented before more than 300 participants representing the lighting design industry. The IESNYC’s judging criteria included design excellence, originality, and creativity in lighting design.
The Parrish Art Museum, winner of the Award of Excellence, pays homage to both Long Island, New York’s unique natural light and the optimal light found in artists’ studios. Arup, working with Herzog & de Meuron and David Madacsi, designed a space where the primarily local artwork will be viewed in the same light as it was created in. The slightly asymmetrical design of the gallery creates lighting conditions that change with the weather and seasons. These effects, while relatively subtle, lead to distinctive shifts in the character of each gallery over the course of repeat visits.
Although galleries are typically designed to flatter the art, the Parrish Art Museum was designed with the artists in mind. After visiting local artists’ work spaces, we mirrored the studios’ generous windows and skylights to provide natural light, while also using fluorescent lamps mounted to the ceiling to supplement illumination as needed. As a result, the experience of the gallery is that of stepping into an artist’s private studio in Long Island.
The Lowline, a proposed park in New York City’s Lower East Side, is the winner of the Award of Citation for the Innovative Use of Daylight. The catch? The planned park is underground, repurposing an unused trolley terminal. Arup’s lighting design team knew that with enough lighting and access to daylight, the design could potentially combat the perception that underground city spaces are unhealthy and undesirable. Instead, daylight and electric lighting create a unique environment and atmosphere, as well as a more positive perception. Due to the highly complex and heavily trafficked area above (the entrance/exit to the Williamsburg Bridge) traditional daylighting techniques were prohibited and active, solar redirection devices were employed instead.