St. Martin's Courtyard

The lighting of St. Martin's Courtyard was designed to attract pedestrians to enter the newly renovated inner plaza. The initial idea was to challenge people’s perception of public space and promote it as a meeting place for social interaction, pleasure and entertainment. The design included the three main entrances to the plaza which display interactive and creative installations that challenge people's direct relationship with space and engages the public as part of the piece and not merely as an spectator. 

Project designed as Lighting Designer for Studio-29. It included the concept for each entry, the final images for the design, as well as the project lighting plans and the luminaire specification sheet.

1. Mercer St. Entrance: aims to create an interactive lighting scheme that engages visitors as part of the installation and invites them to explore their relationship with public space and how it influences their surroundings.

The idea that the public could only see 'something happening’ - a reaction - when they moved through the tunnel-like entrance, was key to coming up with the concept. 

If there is no movement, there is no art; just as if there is no people there is no public space, no city life. Thus, the concept Painting with Shadows emerged as the base for creating an installation triggered by movement to create coloured shadows that would paint the space and create a heightened sense of place for its users.

The design was created using one of the basic principles of light and color: additive color mixing. The art of mixing red, green and blue light to create all kinds of colored light. Yet, it is that 'magic moment’ when you mix all three -R,G,B light- and move your hand in front of it to create colored shadows that made the installation come to life! Carefully placed coloured lights shine through a perforated garden-like pattern that not only cast colored shadows of petals but of passersby alike painting the space with light. 

2. Upper St. Martin's Lane: The initial inspiration for USML’s concept came from the phrase ‘Life is a Journey, not a Destination’. It intends to reinterpret the phrase through a work of art that mesmerizes the spectator from the entrance and turns the journey into the courtyard into a magical doorway to the unknown. Even if the passerby doesn’t know what is at the other side, the entrance will attract them to go into it on its own, as going down a rabbit hole. The journey becomes the main character of the show. Hence, the concept of a Theatre Entrance portrays the idea of transforming the viewer’s reality into a magical scene so they would enjoy the journey to the central court.

A faceted dichroic glass structure is hanged across the ceiling with light shining through it at different angles to paint the walls with moving colored light creating a kaleidoscopic and shimmering effect that embraces the viewer and creates a dramatically magical, fun and engaging experience for all visitors. 

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3. Long Acre St. Entrance: The main attraction of the space is the design of a canopy of glass flowers that hang from existing arches in the adjacent buildings. The canopy, made of colored glass, is illuminated from the top to create colorful projections of the flowers on the street. In addition, luminaries from the bottom light through the flowers to project on the facade of the buildings creating a striking entrance.