Developer: Lefrak Organization/Newport Associates Development Company
Newport Associates Development Company sought to create a landmark project in New Jersey, and by the looks of the new Newport Office Center VII (NOC VII) building, they have succeeded. Built on a high profile location on Jersey City’s Hudson River waterfront opposite downtown Manhattan, NOC VII has added a dynamic element to the Jersey City skyline using light pipe from the 3M company and exterior color changing luminaires from Martin Architectural, working with Lefrak Vice President of Construction Anthony Scavo and Omdex.
Light pipe system 3M technical specialist Steve Pojar was instrumental in creating the decorative edge lighting effect which sits over 30-stories above the Hudson. Originally, the idea was to use halogen lamps with color filters, but Steve, who has experience from a light pipe installation at the Target Headquarters in Minneapolis, recommended using light pipe. The 3M Martin Architectural Light pipe System is a modular lighting element that, when coupled with Martin automated color-changing fixtures, becomes an intense linear source of light. By using the unique micro-structured 3M Optical Lighting Film, even distribution of light from end to end is possible. Because the light source is at one end of the light pipe system, maintenance is simplified over other traditional linear light sources.
Some 72 individually controlled 575-watt Exterior 600 color-changing washlights power six-inch wide 3M light pipes ranging in length from 26 to 48 feet. The Exterior 600s are controlled via a Martin PC-based LightJockey PCI controller and LightJockey Manager, located on the same level as the lightbox in a centrally located engineering room. Martin RS-485 Optosplitters, which allow four branches to be added to the data link, are also used.
NOC VII Lightbox Because the tallest pipes are roughly half as bright as the shortest lengths, spacing of the six-inch polycarbonate pipe varies. And because the three faces of the lightbox are non-rectilinear, the vertical light pipes vary in height, building up to the highest point on each face and decreasing in height at the lowest point on each face.
The lightbox, located above the 31st story, blends in with the rest of the façade during the day. At night however, as the Martin fixtures fade up against the dusk skyline, the large glass wall softens, causing the lightbox to appear different than the windows below. This was achieved by sandblasting the inside panes of glass, which act as a natural diffuser and allow adequate amounts of daylight to come through. The diffused glass also prevents the light pipes from being visible from the outside.
Lighting programming The NOC VII illumination has three facets, north, east (facing Manhattan) and south (facing the Newport Office area). Lighting design was completed by Messrs. Ed Galto, PE and Brian Pasechnik, President and VP Electrical Engineering, respectively, of OMDEX Inc., Consulting Engineers of Midland Park, NJ. Lighting programmer was Dawn Chiang, who joined the project in May. She commented, “I put together a demo using the Martin LightJockey’s offline visualizer, showing the client some possibilities. We decided on three programs: all white; a red, white and blue program for the Fourth of July holiday; and a ‘summer’ program using hot summer colors.”
Dawn used LightJockey Manager to do all the scheduling of the shows, as there is a hierarchy of when the shows should play. The ‘white’ program starts at sunset with the summer colors taking over at for half an hour. Then back to the ‘white’ look for the rest of the evening, shutting down at midnight. There are plans to create a number of additional programs that will run during various holidays throughout the year, as well as other seasonal programs that focus on the colors of fall, winter and spring. “Steve did a great job of engineering the system,” she comments. “The evenness is terrific - it’s remarkable. With the Martin 600s you can get such a variety of colors and intensity and animate things. It is a 72 lamp array with such a variety of color, motion and looks, plus flexibility of daily scheduling, that it far exceeds any exterior lighting currently seen on the Manhattan skyline.”
Dawn completed the programming offsite and then came in with a programming assistant, Eric Cornwell. Eric manned the computer controls on top of the building while Dawn viewed the lighting from a few blocks away, communicating via walkie-talkie as the cues ran. Martin’s Systems Integrator Bruno Silvas assisted during start up and testing, and provided consultant services for programmers. The installation has been operational since just prior to the Fourth of July celebration.
Newport’s third Martin Architectural lighting installation This is Newport’s third Martin Architectural lighting installation. Other Martin lighting in the Newport community include a 9/11 light pipe memorial at Town Square, and the Newport Office Center Pyramid, both incorporating Martin Exterior fixtures. The Town Square installation is an in-ground light pipe installation using four Martin Exterior 200 fixtures. The light pipes flank a brick walkway that traverses a landscaped square near the waterside. Two pairs of light pipes are laid horizontally into the ground, on each side of the walkway, with a diffuser flush mounted at grade level. A Martin LightCorder located in an exterior control box nearby controls the system. The Pyramid is a translucent structure atop another office building on the site, Newport Office Center IV. It uses eight Martin Exterior 600 fixtures installed inside the pyramid and is controlled by a Martin LightJockey system located at ground level in the engineer´s office.
The additional programming that Dawn is completing will add further programming for the NOC VII lightbox, NOC IV Pyramid and the Town Square installation, so that all these programs will be coordinated for holiday and seasonal events throughout the year.
The 600-acre Newport community has helped the Jersey City renaissance, and its impact on the large tri-state region is every bit as significant. Located on Jersey City’s Hudson River waterfront, this master-planned community includes retail, office, leisure, and entertainment facilities and is the largest multi-use development in the U.S. It is located just off the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side, just minutes away from downtown Manhattan, and is the first stop on the PATH train coming out of New York into New Jersey.
