When Penn Station in New York was expanded through the opening of Moynihan Train Hall, a Pharos Designer LPC X (Lighting Playback Controller X) was specified to control the lighting effects that are projected onto the new structure’s glass ceiling.
The new complex was built to ease congestion across the busy commuter station and entailed a near $2 billion restoration of the Beaux-Arts Farley Building that was a former Post Office. The Moynihan Train Hall provides access to nine platforms that are used by the Long Island Railroad and Amtrak.
As part of the restoration, a central atrium and glass roof have been added.
This glass roof has been used as a central focus for the new lighting scheme, which was created by lighting designers Domingo González Associates (DGA). The DGA design team wanted to celebrate and highlight the architecture of the building, particularly three large, original steel trusses that form the framework of the new skylight roof.
DGA also wanted to use light to mark important events and holidays.
To enable this vision to become a reality, a 30-universe Pharos Designer LPC X has been installed. The award-winning LPC X offers an extreme level of power and integration, making it the ideal lighting control solution for landmark lighting installations that require significant channel counts.
The Designer LPC 30 is controlling over 9,000 feet of linear LED lighting; from the Color Kinetics portfolio. Specifically, the linear illuminations are delivered through a mixture of Color Kinetic’s 30 x 60 Graze MX4 RGBW 4ft and 10 x 60 Graze Compact RGBW 4ft.
Other solutions from Color Kinetics have been utilised; 112 Blast Powercore RGBWs illuminate elements of the new train hall’s architecture.
Approximately 15 pre-set lighting control scenes have been developed by the design team, working in collaboration with the client. The standard white scene, set at 3000K, is utilised for everyday evenings and nights. This default setting includes a few adjustments at sunset and sunrise when the colour temperature shifts to mirror the natural sky above.
The other scenes can be utilised to mark holidays and local events, bringing together artistic flair to the lighting that also provides the function of illuminating the space for travellers passing through the hall.
Project Credits:
Lighting Design: DGA
Architects: SOM
Lighting Supplier: Signify
Lighting Manufacturer: Color Kinetics
Controls: Pharos Architectural Controls
