CLIENT: NYC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.
PROJECT: Hunters Point South Phase 2
Long Island City, NY
DESIGN: Thomas Balsley Associates and Weiss Manfredi Architects
ARTIST: Nobuho Nagasawa
ROLE: Public Art Project Manager
DATES: 2015-2018
Working closely with the design team to review potential locations suitable for site specific commissions; researching artists whose approach could create a work that would complement the design and endure over time; develop all phases of an RFP process through final artists selection, design development and presentation for review and acceptance by community groups and city agencies.
Luminescence is a sculpture depicting seven phases of the moon. At night, each phase is illuminated by a phosphorescent polymer integrated into the moon's surface; each phase absorbing sunlight during the day and emitting light at night. The placement on the peninsula lawn will make a natural overlook where people will use the large moon surfaces as a place to sit, when as dusk approaches and all throughout the night, a blue light will glow from each sculpture, illuminating seven phases of the moon.
Luminescence is the public art component of the Hunter’s Point Phase 2 Waterfront Park development located in Long Island City, NY. Each of the seven sculptures will be constructed of precast concrete consisting of white Portland cement, phosphorescent sand, and crushed Abalone shell. Each dome measures 72” in diameter, raising roughly 16” out of the ground, and they are arranged in a semi‐ circular configuration on a 58ft by 55ft plot of land.
The project was received the New York City Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design in 2017.
