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

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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. (more…)

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. (more…)

The NoMa Parks Foundation is ready to officially turn on the 4,000 light rods hung in the M Street NE underpass on Thursday evening. Rain, designed by Thurlow Small Architecture + NIO architects, includes LED light rods hung from the ceiling of the underpass in a series of vaults. The lights will stay on around the clock and will respond to activity in the underpass. Read more.

Plans are moving forward for the dramatic transformation of the M Street underpass in NoMa into an illuminated passageway with light raining down from its ceiling. The NoMa Parks Foundation announced last week that Thurlow Small Architecture + NIO architects have been selected to design the installation for the M Street underpass. M.C. Dean will serve as contractor, and construction is expected to begin in fall of 2015.

A community meeting to introduce the design team and contractor, and to garner additional feedback on the concept and design, will be held April 27. All are invited to come and meet the designers and construction team, learn more about the conceptual design and share your thoughts! The meeting will take place on Monday, April 27 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. An American Sign Language interpreter will be available.

NIO architects hails from the Netherlands and Thurlow Small Architecture is based in Rhode Island. NIO architects has completed more than 10 underpasses in the last 14 years. Thurlow Small Architecture is an architecture and urban design services firm that has worked locally and internationally on the planning and development of parks, downtown placemaking, and public infrastructure. “Rain,” the M Street installation, is still in the conceptual design phase. The cascading drops of rain will be LED lights hung inside hundreds of polycarbonate tubes. Learn more about this project at nomaparks.org.