Photo: Charley Lhasa
NYC Second Avenue Subway, 96th Street Head-House
LOCATION: New York City, New York, U.S.
CLIENT: New York City Transit (NYCT), MTA
TEAM: Arup for AECOM-Arup
ENR Best Transit Project:
Second Avenue Subway Phase I
New York City’s Second Avenue Subway took nearly 70 years to build. The political, logistics, and funding coalesced in 2007 and was observed by a ceremonial groundbreaking at 96th Street Station.
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Two months before the New Year’s Eve 2017 grand opening, MTA Capital Construction specifically requested Leni Schwendinger, of Arup, to “add colored light” into the monumental, glass head-houses. At that point, the arched canopies were in the final stages of construction. Arup, as part of a joint venture, was the design leader, providing full design and engineering services for the first phase of the project. Schwendinger took on the design concept and implementation challenges, a near-impossible task to fit lighting fixtures into a fully extant structure. The design had to be installed in a record 6-weeks. A special team was convened on the construction side to expedite mock-ups, attachment designs, procurement, and final install. Approvals had to be obtained from MTA executives in record time.
Schwendinger’s team set about locating a flexible, LED linear fixture to fit into a precise, inches-wide extrusion. She held a mock-up for decision-makers to examine fixture choices, brightness levels, and color. A crucial decision had to be made on hue – should the head-house change color over time? Should it be the official MTA colors of blue and gold? Or simply a solitary color? A singular, vibrant blue won out.
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Set in a wide plaza, visible from adjacent streets and sidewalks, the 96th Street station features a blue glow marking the station’s location. Visible day and night, the spectacular entryway is an often-photographed feature of the system. Frequently, news announcers stand in front of the massive glowing structure to report the evening newscast.
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Schwendinger also orchestrated mock-ups for VIP MTA-architects in the stations’ underground areas.