Lighting The Way Home ——A Creative Hub for Culture Workers

Manhattan, New York

In this project, we created a lighting scheme for the headquarters of CWEC, a New York-based non-profit organization, that met the New York City Comcheck energy code and complied with Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) standards. 

CWEC

“CWEC supports culture workers through educational programs and resources sharing to advance the recognition of cultural labor and opportunities for collective action. We envision a more just and equitable cultural workplace and landscape. Our programs focus on skillbuilding, resource sharing, and the collaborative generation of new ideas. All public programs are interdisciplinary and participatory.”

Concept Statement

Our lighting concept acknowledges the artistic nature of culture workers; it incorporates elements of light art, using custom-designed fixtures and dynamic color schemes to inspire creativity. The space will periodically feature curated lighting displays to infuse a sense of wonder and ignite the imagination. Flexible lighting scenes will be designed to accommodate a variety of cultural and creative events, ensuring the space can host performances, exhibitions, workshops, and gatherings. Lighting will play a pivotal role in enhancing the sense of connection within the space; collaborative areas will be defined by warm, inviting lighting, promoting interaction and idea exchange, and individual areas will use task-specific lighting and personalized control.

Designer: Ella Liu , Sue Chun, Zijian Chen