This story was originally published in Architectural Lighting.

The dichroic film on the panels creates different color reflections.
Alan Tansey The dichroic film on the panels creates different color reflections.

Designed by SoftLab in conjunction with Focus Lighting, the feature wall in the lobby of One State Street in New York City gives the building a distinct entry. At 17 feet tall and 27 feet wide, the aluminum structure is divided into “cells,” each of which is fitted with Plexiglas panels covered with dichroic film. The film “reflects and refracts” light so that the color of each panel changes depending on where the observer is standing.

The feature wall's daytime color palette shifts from warm to cool over the course of the day.
Alan Tansey The feature wall's daytime color palette shifts from warm to cool over the course of the day.

Focus Lighting designed an illumination strategy that takes this color-changing dynamic to the next level, backlighting the wall with RGBW LEDs. A daytime program takes cues from the human circadian cycle, shifting the light from warm to cool over the course of the day.

The feature wall's nighttime color palette.
Alan Tansey The feature wall's nighttime color palette.

At night, the wall becomes a kinetic light sculpture rotating through a quintet of colors: dark blue, light blue, pink, purple, and peach.

A detail of the feature wall.
Alan Tansey A detail of the feature wall.

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