Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Company Design One Lighting
Lead Designers Weston Wetzel
Other Designer's names Christien Methot
Client MdeAS Architects
Photo Credits Design One Lighting
Other Credits BGO
Completion Date 2023
Project Location 685 Third Avenue, New York, NY
Entry DescriptionLocated just three blocks from New York’s historic Grand Central Terminal, from which commuters pour into the busy Manhattan streets, is 685 Third Avenue. The building, sitting on some of the most valuable real estate in the country, was recently renovated to infuse a state of well-being into its patrons and visitors.
The new design embeds the scientifically proven methods of Human-Centric Lighting to ease our circadian rhythms, while also integrating natural therapeutic elements such as plant life. It was important to 685 Third Avenue’s ownership that their space, which comprises fifty commercial businesses, presented a welcoming feeling of wellness combined with modern style, and an earth-conscious aesthetic within the corporate environment.
We applied this approach to other opportunities in the space, including a glowing presence of light beyond the wood louvers that were a feature of the soffit face covering, which transitioned from one ceiling height to another. By adding this illumination behind the louvers, the visually defined restrictions of ceilings and walls are removed, applying a more airy, open, and lighter feeling. We also used the cove lighting technique around each of the columns with a back wall that features art, adding depth to the space and elongating the horizontal plane.
Sustainability ApproachPlant life was important to the client, and was a challenge due to the lack of sunlight below ground level. After thorough artificial lighting research, Sunlike technology became clear as our solution to not only presenting a standardized 3000K warm white downlighting, but also having an added layer of plant growth support. The fixtures equipped with Sunlike technology mimic sunlight by emitting full spectrum light to support the growth of plants and render colors more accurately, all while improving well-being and enhancing cognitive performance for humans.
The lighting design for 685 Third Avenue is truly state-of-the-art. It represents an incredible commitment to problem-solving and human well-being, while delivering beautiful and clean aesthetics that uplift patrons every single day.
