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Finsbury Avenue Square Installation
Maurice Brill Lighting Design, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | |
| location | London |
| function | installation, square |
| contributed by | Kirsten_Hannema |
The light design for Finsbury Avenue Square was part of a light masterplan for the entire area around the square in the middle of the Broadgate business district: 372.000 sq metres of office, retail and leisure accommodation, and Liverpool Street Station. The aim was to transform the square, a rather unprepossessing space where people wandered around aimlessly at night, into an attractive social space with a distinct identity. But the result does more than that: thanks to the innovative use of lighting, Finsbury Avenue Square has become one of the most exciting public spaces in the city. The open space is structured by a taut grid of LED-backed frosted glass strips, which emerge from the ground to form the supports for the square's benches. The LED's (over 100.00) can change colour, be dimmed and are currently programmed to display 10 'scenes', varying from subtly changing (in the time that it takes to cross the square), to turbulent 'Tsunami' or violent 'Matrix' scenarios.
I used to work right next to this installation and in winter, I actually looked forward to leaving work, just to spend some time staring at the installation. You can't tell from the photos but the programmed displayed were both hypnotic and amusing. Especially the Matrix scenario - at least I'm guessing that was the one.
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