L’Observatorie International is designing the lighting for the facade and the exterior public spaces of the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards.

L’Observatoire International in collaboration with NBW worked on The Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards. Herve Descottes proposed a lighting concept to communicate the dynamism of the form while simultaneously controlling glare and undesirable light spill, delivering visual stimulation and visual comfort in parallel. Lighting served to suggest pathways that navigate through the public square connecting Hudson Yards towers, encouraging circulation and movement through the gathering spaces and gardens. Low level lighting fixtures located below chest and arranged at ground level around this centerpiece were concealed within landscape elements such as Hedge planting foot rails, staircase handrails, benches and step lights, providing discrete functional light and emphasizing the prominence of the central form. In contrast, textured light in the forms of foliage illuminate the main walkway. By combining all these layers, and in picking out each tier of the sculpture at night with light, the concentric rays of light that emanate from the centerpiece create volume and form against the backdrop of the new plaza and its landscape, enhancing The Vessels place at the heart of Hudson yards, as people gravitate around this dynamic new public art installation.