Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall

“It has a good nighttime identity and it inspires a level of awe and wonderment when people walk around in it.” —Juror Nelson Jenkins, AIA, Lumen Architecture, New York

SOM transformed the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building into the new Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall, which serves as an expansion to New York’s Pennsylvania Station complex—one of the city’s most ambitious infrastructure upgrades in decades. The re-imagined structure features mid-block connector skylights that usher in an abundance of natural light into the main hall, while also creating an extreme contrast with adjacent spaces with low ceilings. The New York-based Domingo Gonzalez Associates employed a lighting control system to automatically minimize luminance ratios, continuously adapting to the intensity and color temperature of the natural light.

Uplights and downlights illuminate the distinctive trusses in the train hall, but the fixtures themselves are thoughtfully concealed from view, allowing the architecture itself to take center stage. After the sun goes down, however, it’s the lighting that steals the show: Truss-mounted RGBW uplights, as well as façade-mounted fixtures, wash these features in neutral or bold shades, which change throughout the year to reflect holidays and special events. The artful lighting design no doubt contributes to the new station becoming a destination, even for those who don’t plan to board a train

courtesy John Bartelstone Photography
At the mid-block connector, color-changing uplights at the connector skylight are supplemented by “frames of light”—luminaires that outline all daylight apertures for definition and assist with adaptation.

courtesy John Bartelstone Photography
The client’s requirements for illuminance and uniformity were achieved with deft application of linear and downlight sources in lounges and ticketing areas.

courtesy John Bartelstone Photography
The train hall and mid-block connector skylights shine from above, showcasing the phased implementation of façade lighting. Inside-facing façades are washed, increasing transparency from within.

Details
Project Name: Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall
Location: New York
Client/Owner: Empire State Development (State of New York), Vornado Realty Trust, The Related Companies
Lighting Designer: Domingo Gonzalez Associates, Ilva Dodaj, Domingo Gonzalez, AC Hickox, Yi-Szu Liao
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Photographer: John Bartelstone Photography; Lucas Blair Simpson / Aaron Fedor (SOM) – Photographer

Project Size: 225,000 square feet
Project Cost: $1.6 billion
Lighting Cost: $15 million
Watts per Square Foot: 1
Code Compliance: Project met all applicable NYC Codes and is also the first in the world to achieve LEED BD+C for Transit certification, with a silver rating.
Lighting Product Manufacturers: Color Kinetics, Lumenwerx, iGuzzini, Luminis, USAI Lighting, VODE