Luminaries
Brookfield PLACe
has a new ritual in their monumental public space—one that is as anticipated as Rockefeller Center’s Tree Lighting. The Lab at Rockwell Group, in collaboration with Rockwell Group, dove deep into holiday traditions to create a permanent, annual holiday installation. This interactive public lighting display was built on a simple but powerful narrative of the season’s traditions of sharing, giving, community, and light. A canopy of 650 twinkling custom Luminode lanterns change in color and intensity and follow the glass-enclosed topography of the iconic Winter Garden. The glow of the lanterns draws the eye through the space from the stairs towards the waterfront outside.
In its ambient glowing state, Luminaries emit patterns of light that drift across the surface of the canopy. The patterns include a rotation of choreographed light and music shows inspired by natural phenomena like the Northern Lights and the drift of falling snowflakes. Brookfield Place will donate $1, up to $25,000, for every wish made during the holiday season to ROAR (Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants). ROAR is a community of restaurant owners and industry veterans with a mission to advocate for independent restaurant businesses devastated by the effects of COVID-19, support restaurant workers suffering financial hardship, and help create a path to a sustainable future for the hospitality industry in New York.
With this new ritual, intimacy and spectacle can be felt and experienced simultaneously. Luminaries at Brookfield Place holds power in its temporary existence, supporting a seasonal celebration. Locals and tourists alike have an opportunity to pause, reflect, and look forward to a new year.
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Brookfield Properties
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230 Vesey St, New York, NY 10281
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Technical Producer, Project Manager
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Fabricator:
Timbur
Kubik Maltbie
Integrators:
Eos Lightmedia
Documentation:
Video produced by Brian Choy (Director and Editor) and Arthur Woo (Director of Photography)
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Editors’ Picks: 11 New York Events for Your Holiday Art Calendar, ArtNet
High-tech wood theremin controls holiday light show, Woodworking Network
Drive-through light shows, outdoor activities, and more: NYC’s best holiday events in 2020, 6sqft
Cities and Business District Trying to Brighten the Mood With Holiday Lights, WWD
Bringing Light in Remembrance, CBS News
Three Art-Driven Christmas Experiences in New York City, Cool Hunting
Rockwell Group creates canopy of 650 pulsating lanterns inside New York's Winter Garden, Dezeen
Architects + Designers Unveil Holiday Installations Around The World, Design Boom
Rockwell Group Lights Up Brookfield Place New York with Hundreds of Colored Lanterns, Design Boom
Architect David Rockwell's 'Luminaries' Aims To Create a New Holiday Tradition, Fast Company
A Holiday Display That You Can Actually Touch Comes to Lower Manhattan, New York Magazine
Basking in a New Holiday Glow, No Evergreen Needed, New York Times
renders + Pre-visualization
Touchless wishing stations
In the past, visitors could make holiday wishes by placing their hands on a wishing station—two glowing sculptural cubic blocks of varying heights—which would then pulse with color. When visitors released their hands, the station would send their wish to the canopy above, translating it into a mesmerizing display of dappling lights and colors that travel across the canopy.
In light of the health concerns related to COVID-19, we transformed the wishing stations into a completely touch-less experience without altering the narrative of its magic, showing how interactive design can seamlessly evolve with the times. We removed the touch-sensitive film from the wishing stations and added depth sensing cameras to track visitors’ movements. When a visitor walks up to the kiosk, their presence activates the wishing experience. A docent will ask the visitor to make a wish and then to raise their hands up to the sky. Once the camera senses this action, the wish is released to the canopy.
Maestro
Introducing Maestro, a new interactive display we developed for Luminaries, an annual holiday tradition at Brookfield Place New York. Combining the LAB at Rockwell Group's technological expertise with Timbur's advanced fabrication skills, Maestro is a stack-laminated theremin that uses skeletal tracking technology, allowing visitors to conduct their own symphonies without physical contact. Experience Maestro December 16-19 at Brookfield Place and support the fight against hunger in NYC. For every Maestro performance, Brookfield will donate $1 to @cityharvestnyc.
