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Technology

Luminaries

New York, NY

The LAB at Rockwell Group created an interactive, public lighting display in Lower Manhattan, inaugurating a new holiday tradition. Commissioned by Arts Brookfield and located in the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, Luminaries inspires visitors to pause, reflect, and look to the future. Three glowing Wishing Stations invite guests to "send" wishes to the canopy of lanterns where they transform into mesmerizing displays of dappling light and color, creating a collaborative ritual.

650 lanterns hover like a magic carpet above the Winter Garden. The lanterns erupt every hour with choreographed light shows, inspired by natural phenomena.

When you release your hands from the Wishing Station, your color (wish) is sent to the canopy above.

The lanterns follow the topography of the Winter Garden.


Glowing, touch-sensitive Corian stations invite visitors to make a wish, pulsing in response to their touch. Each wish results in a donation to a charitable organization.

Looking up at the glass-enclosed Winter Garden, the lanterns are suspended among the palm trees.

We thought about how artists have used light to create immersive spaces that tap into our emotions. Festivals inspired us too, from Burning Man to Brussels' Flower Carpet.

"This is the first time we've used light as a building material."
David Rockwell
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