Little Island

Honor Award • Exterior Lighting • Design Team: Fisher Marantz Stone; Heatherwick Studio

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courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

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“The lighting supported the project and created its own little world” —Juror Nelson Jenkins, AIA, Lumen Architecture, New York

A collaboration between the London-based Heatherwick Studio and the New York-based MNLA, led by Signe Nielsen, Little Island is a 3-acre artificial island park on Pier 55 in Manhattan. Supported by 132 tulip-shaped concrete pots atop piers, the park features rolling topography interspersed with pathways, performance spaces, concessions, and plenty of breathtaking vantage points. Fisher Marantz Stone of New York conceived a strategy to illuminate Little Island that creates an intimate yet safe environment.

A restored ocean liner archway, sparkling with light, draws visitors in along a luminous bridge beneath uplit concrete pots. The island’s walkways are well-lit for safety and orientation, but the fixtures themselves are carefully shielded to maintain unobstructed views of the city and the Hudson River. Linear sources are concealed within railings, and point sources are positioned behind boulders or ground cover, along with a few slender light poles, to establish a sense of spatial hierarchy. Many fixtures utilized throughout the park were either modified or custom-designed to withstand the harsh climate and meet the client’s requirements. By artfully determining what to highlight or leave in shadow, the designers succeeded in creating a dramatic and dynamic setting for nighttime exploration.

Fisher Marantz Stone was tasked with creating subtle landscape and structure highlights utilizing inconspicuous sources.

courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

Fisher Marantz Stone was tasked with creating subtle landscape and structure highlights utilizing inconspicuous sources.

Lights—concealed within rails, behind concrete boulders, ground cover, and in the case of the few light poles, nestled between trees—create an integrated environment where luminaires are seldom noticed.

courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

Lights—concealed within rails, behind concrete boulders, ground cover, and in the case of the few light poles, nestled between trees—create an integrated environment where luminaires are seldom noticed.

Only the luminaires highlighting the entry pots change color to announce special events; other light sources are kept a warm white to create a serene environment.

courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

Only the luminaires highlighting the entry pots change color to announce special events; other light sources are kept a warm white to create a serene environment.

Many fixture types were modified or custom-designed to meet the client’s requirements as well as the harsh climate of New York Harbor: humid, salty, windy, with the potential for flooding.

courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

Many fixture types were modified or custom-designed to meet the client’s requirements as well as the harsh climate of New York Harbor: humid, salty, windy, with the potential for flooding.

Two luminous footbridges link the esplanade to the island.

courtesy Michael Grimm Photography

Two luminous footbridges link the esplanade to the island.

Details
Project Name: Little Island
Location: New York
Client/Owner: Little Island
Lighting Designer: Fisher Marantz Stone, Enrique Garcia-Carrera, Paul Marantz, Miyoung Son-Carroll
Architect: Heatherwick Studio, Simon Ng, Paul Westwood
Landscape Architect: MNLA, Mathews Nielsen, Dan Yannaccone
Structural Engineer: ARUP, Elvis Nunez
Photographer: Michael Grimm Photography

Project Size: 104,500 square feet
Project Cost: N/A
Lighting Cost: N/A
Watts per Square Foot: .3
Code Compliance: ASHRAE 90.1-2010 and 2014 NYSECC
Lighting Product Manufacturers: B-K Lighting, Lumenpulse, Klik USA, i2Systems, Boca Flasher

About the Author

Murrye Bernard

Murrye Bernard, AIA, LEED AP, is an architect, writer, editor, and strategist based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in many design publications, including Architectural Lighting, Architectural Record, and Hospitality Design. Most recently, she was the managing editor of Contract magazine; she has also served as editor of AssociateNews and Forward, newsletters of the AIA National Associates Committee, and as contributing editor to e-Oculus, the newsletter of the AIA New York Chapter. Murrye earned a B.Arch. from the University of Arkansas, and has practiced with Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects (now Polk Stanley Wilcox) in Little Rock, Ark., and TEK Architects in New York.

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