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M Street NE Underpass

March 15, 2023

In April 2015, the NoMa Parks Foundation announced the selection of Thurlow Small and NIO architecten to create the design for the M Street NE underpass: Rain. The two firms had provided the design preferred by the judges and the community, had worked together over the previous two decades on several infrastructure and public realm projects, and had also completed more than 10 underpass projects. The construction partner was M.C. Dean.

Rain, which opened on October 25, 2018, features cascading LED lights housed in roughly 2,000 hanging polycarbonate tubes that bathe the space in a soft blue- white light and pulse in response to vehicular traffic in the underpass, giving the effect of a gentle rain shower. “Our tunnel proposal for NoMa does what all good urban parks do,” wrote the design team when the project was announced by NPF. “It offers a moment of openness, a space to breathe, and a place where thoughts can drift away.” M Street’s Rain installation glows with ever-changing, soft white light, making an enormously dramatic improvement in how pedestrians and cyclists experience the space. In 2019, Rain received the American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter Special Commendation for Infrastructure Enhancement.

NoMa Parks Foundation to Illuminate Lightweave Installation in L Street NE Underpass on April 9

April 03, 2019

For Immediate Release
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**NoMa Parks Foundation to Illuminate Lightweave Installation in L Street NE Underpass on April 9**

Six suspended lattices of steel and polycarbonate LED tubing will glow 24 hours a day, shifting colors in response to nearby ambient sounds.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the evening of Tuesday, April 9, the NoMa Parks Foundation will turn on the power for Lightweave, a dynamic and compelling light installation in the L Street NE railway underpass. Comprising six spiraling lattices of stainless steel and bent LED tubing suspended above the underpass sidewalks — three above each passageway, hung from freestanding armatures — the artwork will light up the space 24 hours a day, with LED colors changing and moving in response to sound waves from the sidewalk spaces and vibrations from trains passing overhead. Lightweave is the second of the NoMa Parks Foundation’s planned underpass “art parks” to open and was designed by interdisciplinary San Francisco art and design firm FUTUREFORMS. The first art park — Rain, in the M Street NE underpass — opened in October 2018. Read More

NoMa Parks Foundation Opens Rain Installation in M Street NE Underpass

October 25, 2018

For Immediate Release
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NoMa Parks Foundation Opens Rain Installation in M Street NE Underpass

4,000 LED-powered light rods that evoke the sensation of falling rain will glow 24 hours a day and pulse in response to traffic flow beneath the elevated railway.

OCTOBER 25, 2018 / WASHINGTON, D.C. — The NoMa Parks Foundation turned on the power today for Rain, a dynamic light installation in the M Street NE railway underpass. Comprising 4,000 LED-powered polycarbonate rods suspended above the underpass sidewalks, the artwork will illuminate the space 24 hours a day and pulse like gentle waves of rainfall in response to the flow of vehicular traffic beneath the elevated tracks. Rain is the first of the NoMa Parks Foundation’s four planned underpass “art parks” to open and was designed by Thurlow Small Architecture of Oakland, California, working in conjunction with Dutch firm NIO architecten in response to an international competition held by the Foundation. Read More

L Street Underpass Art Park Finalist Announced

July 01, 2015

The NoMa Parks Foundation has selected the design concept for L Street, the second underpass to be transformed with light and art in the NoMa neighborhood. Future Cities Lab will create an undulating light structure, “Lightweave,” that will appear to float from the ceiling of the underpass. The installation will “peek out” onto L Street outside the underpass and beckon visitors to explore and enjoy the beautiful, transformed space. M.C. Dean will serve as contractor, with construction expected to begin in early 2016.

The NoMa Parks Foundation is committed to improving the lighting and overall user experience in all of NoMa’s underpasses. To that end, the Foundation has engaged Michael Vergason Landscape Architects to provide designs for “street furniture” and other ground-plane improvements.

“We very much look forward to your participation and input on this important public project,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa Parks Foundation. “The NoMa Parks Foundation is extremely grateful for the high level of community participation in all of the parks projects advancing at this time. We thank the hundreds of people who have attended community meetings and submitted survey responses over the last several months.”

Community members are invited to meet the designers and construction team, learn more about the conceptual design and share their thoughts at the community meeting on Monday, July 13, from 6:30 to 8 PM in the Lobby Project, 1200 First Street, NE. This event is free and open to the public; RSVP here. For more information on the design and construction team, please click here.

The Foundation started the underpass project in April 2014, with an international design competition that received 248 responses. The goal of the project is to fill NoMa’s four rail underpasses, at L, M, K Streets and Florida Avenue with light and art, making them enjoyable east-west connections for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

Newsletter: Parks Update – Community Meetings, L Street Underpass