Standing 145 feet tall, the complex of eight futuristic looking egg-shaped digesters at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint, in Brooklyn, N.Y., are visible for miles around.
Lighting design firm L-Observatoire International sprinkled the expansive industrial landscape with accents of blue. The result is a diaphanous veil of colored light that defines the boundaries of the plant.
The eggs themselves-each capable of processing 1.5 million gallons of sludge every day-are backlit by four batteries of four 1,500W metal halide lamps each with a blue filter.
The blue metal halide sources create an 'other-worldly' illumination for this industrial facility.
Much of the job involved meeting the bare bones technical requirements of night shift work with metal halide worklights. 26W compact fluorescent fixture at the walkways above the digester eggs contrast with the blue illumination of the equipment below.
When turned on, the luminaires take several minutes to warm up, during which the intensity of the light steadily grows.
-The color is a symbol for calm, cleanliness, and purity, but it also serves to contrast the light of the city, which is predominately amber or bright white,' says Herv?? Descottes, L-Observatoire International's founder.
