Project Details
- Project Name
- Beyond Walls: Building on the Vibrancy of Lynn
- Architect
- Payette
- Client/Owner
- Lynn, MA
- Project Types
-
Cultural ,Infrastructure
- Project Scope
- Renovation/Remodel
- Size
- 128,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2018
- Awards
- 2021 AIA - National Awards
- Shared by
- Madeleine D'Angelo
- Consultants
-
Lighting Designer: LAM Partners,Electrical Engineer: BALA,Other: Port Lighting Systems ,Other: IBEW Local 103
- Project Status
- Built
- Cost
- $2,300,000
An abridged version of the below paragraph appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of ARCHITECT as part of expanded coverage of the 2021 AIA Regional & Urban Design Awards.
Many communities across the country struggle with the presence of disruptive, underutilized infrastructure. For Lynn, Mass., a still-active rail line presented the issue: a transit viaduct slices through the heart of its downtown, creating darkened passages and adjacencies. To both repair the urban fabric and provide citizens and visitors with a brand-new civic amenity, Boston-based Payette and a team of collaborators created Beyond Walls: Building on the Vibrancy of Lynn, a light installation placed in the underpasses of the elevated railway at three proximate sites. Complemented by new street murals and an outdoor exhibition of vintage neon signage, the low-maintenance LED installations dazzle pedestrians with a wild, rainbow-inspired spectral array, turning nighttime streets into a dreamy landscape for years to come.
Project Credits
Project: Beyond Walls Lynn, Lynn, Mass.
Client/Owner: City of Lynn
Architect: Payette, Boston. Parke MacDowell, AIA (project architect)
Electrical Engineer: BALA Consulting Engineers
Construction Manager: Beyond Walls
Lighting Designer: Lam Partners
Consultant: Port Lighting
Size: 16,000 square feet (underpass lighting), 128,000 square feet (murals)
Cost: $2.3 million
Materials and Products
Lighting Control Systems: Pharos Controls
Lighting: Color Kinetics
Metal: ACP Waterjet (WaSH stations)
Paints and Finishes: Montana Colors and Sherwin-Williams
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Lynn, MA has faced challenging economic, demographic and perceptual circumstances for decades. Poor visibility in the dark underpasses beneath the rail line downtown produces a disproportionate amount of crime and vehicle/pedestrian accidents. As part of the “Districts in Development” initiative in 2016, MassDevelopment authored a Downtown Action Plan for the City of Lynn.
Neighborhood meetings and feedback from residents and business owners revealed a desire for more public art and more light on the underpasses and the sidewalks to increase walkability. The community made it clear that they believed art could make downtown safer and improve local commerce. Thus, this community formed a non-profit called Beyond Walls and began a campaign focused on three key urban interventions: Street-Art Murals, Vintage Neon Sign Art and Dynamic Underpass Lighting.
Payette joined the program in 2016 with LAM Partners to work on the design of underpass lighting and provided Beyond Walls with renderings that illustrate the project’s potential for the city.
Merging art, history and technology, Beyond Walls restored and displayed vintage neon artwork from the collection of Dave Waller of Brickyard VFX. These artifacts of classic commercial Americana have been dusted off, spruced up and displayed in all their retro glory. Newly mounted on downtown buildings or displayed in storefronts throughout the downtown cultural district, these nostalgic pieces evoke the heyday of Lynn’s commercial and industrial past. Illumination from these pieces brings greater light and increases the walkability and economic vitality of downtown Lynn. Overall, the project not only delights the eye, but contributes to the safety of the community.
The $1.2M project was funded by gifts, grants and in-kind labor and equipment donations. While the initial installation was donated to the City, additional care was taken to ensure that long-term costs were not onerous. The high-efficiency Philips LED fixtures consume only as much energy as sixteen of the City’s street lights.