PHILADELPHIA | W Hotel & Element by Westin | 617 FT | 51 FLOORS

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Nice simulation, TK? I wish they would of ran the glass all the way up. It looks unfinished without it.

I like the way they have it. Notice in the leaked elevation where the glass and metal met it was just a flat line. Then they changed it to look like waves to represent the Schuylkill River, as the top with the jagged parts that pop out mimicks the Schuylkill River cliffs

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by TK2001

I like the way they have it. Notice in the leaked elevation where the glass and metal met it was just a flat line. Then they changed it to look like waves to represent the Schuylkill River, as the top with the jagged parts that pop out mimicks the Schuylkill River cliffs

Interesting way of looking at it...

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Interesting way of looking at it...

"The 773,500-SF building’s nighttime lighting has become part of its branding. The Lighting Practice used white LED sources with a DMX512 controller to create a dynamic white sparkle for the building’s crown, which is intended to resemble the cliffs along the Schuylkill River in Fairmont Park. After the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, the owner decided that the system should have color-changing capability to tap into the energy of the city."

https://www.thelightingpractice.com/...delphia-hotel/

[Jawnadelphia]

Nice work TK.

Someone asked a week or so ago for some street views, here you go:

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by TK2001

"The 773,500-SF building’s nighttime lighting has become part of its branding. The Lighting Practice used white LED sources with a DMX512 controller to create a dynamic white sparkle for the building’s crown, which is intended to resemble the cliffs along the Schuylkill River in Fairmont Park. After the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, the owner decided that the system should have color-changing capability to tap into the energy of the city."

https://www.thelightingpractice.com/...delphia-hotel/

Love it-genius idea from the owner. And, I appreciate the technical specs too.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

Nice work TK.

Someone asked a week or so ago for some street views, here you go:

The base on this monster bldg looks solid! W hotels always demands good design to their bldgs. Anyone ever noticed the one at the Denver Int'l Airport. Very cool.

[Jayfar]

Thread excerpts from 2014, wherein there was some back and forth with Brook Lenfest himself (aka blenfest) about lighting ideas.

Originally Posted by blenfest

The spire to me takes away from the organic eroding rock look but in any case the height is maxed out.

We are choosing glass carefully and haven't made a final selection but it will be a lighter blue to possibly a cobalt blue and may be mirrored. We are being very careful that it will not come across as dark or gray. The clouds are a rendered reflection and are not in the glass. We are also looking into lighting options similar to Cira Center's type but it's expensive. In all likelihood there will be some sort of changeable color lighting at least in the top third.

There is a restaurant and lobby for the W at street level where the music gets turned up at night with a VIP section. On the top of the podium is another destination bar with an outdoor pool and cabanas. The pool is heated year round and will also be heated in the winter similar to a ski resorts pool.

At the top will be very nice W suites with large terraces.

I'm afraid that's all I can add for now.

Originally Posted by Late1

Just wanted to say "thank you" again for bringing such a cool project to this important location and for sharing info with us here along the way. Cira-esque exterior lighting would look fantastic, would seem right for the W brand, and would probably help connect the tower more to the Avenue of the Arts with its vibrant lighting schemes. But cost restraints are understandable.

What if, rather than simply putting it on the upper third of the building, you were to set the LEDs on just the extruded/inset "blocks" of the façade? That would bring (a very narrow strip of) the lighting scheme much closer to the streetscape on the 15th St side of the north & south elevations, and it would create a really striking visual as it expands eastward in chunks as it rises to the crown.

It would also keep the tower's unique form visible at night by demarking the façade's intricacies. And if one of the lighting settings were a downward "chase" pattern, you could create a pretty awesome waterfall effect. That sort of LED coverage would probably be more than 1/3 of the façade, though probably still less than 1/2. But the payback might be worth it.

[snip]

Originally Posted by blenfest

I passed on your lighting idea to Jack Mathews. We'll get something done as far as lighting.

…and back to the present day.

Originally Posted by TK2001

"The 773,500-SF building’s nighttime lighting has become part of its branding. The Lighting Practice used white LED sources with a DMX512 controller to create a dynamic white sparkle for the building’s crown, which is intended to resemble the cliffs along the Schuylkill River in Fairmont Park. After the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, the owner decided that the system should have color-changing capability to tap into the energy of the city."

https://www.thelightingpractice.com/...delphia-hotel/

[TK2001]

https://youtu.be/LYj9Xd2QGEE
White light shining downwards

https://youtu.be/9wDWLFjP-RQ
Color changing downwards

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Thread excerpts from 2014, wherein there was some back and forth with Brook Lenfest himself (aka blenfest) about lighting ideas.






…and back to the present day.

This is fascinating.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

This is fascinating.

If only something was suggested for the north facing facade as well

Still, really love this building and excited to see the lighting fully enacted (maybe it'll get Liberty Place to step their game up as well).

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

If only something was suggested for the north facing facade as well

The lack of input before the fact is surely due to the lack of a rendering of that face of the building. What was going on only became apparent as construction progressed.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

If only something was suggested for the north facing facade as well

Still, really love this building and excited to see the lighting fully enacted (maybe it'll get Liberty Place to step their game up as well).

Every time I drive into the city at night with my wife, I mention how weak the Liberty Place lighting scheme is. One day, she will acknowledge my complaints instead of rolling her eyes and staying silent. One day.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

Every time I drive into the city at night with my wife, I mention how weak the Liberty Place lighting scheme is. One day, she will acknowledge my complaints instead of rolling her eyes and staying silent. One day.

Sounds like someone else (besides me) needs to learn how to read his audience. I now keep such thoughts to myself (which occur every single time I see the skyline at night), while praying that whoever can actually fix the problem receives an angelic visitation about it.

[iheartphilly]

LOL guys...our realities are different than theirs. But seriously, I think the angle of how the lighting systems on Liberty place affects how it looks from the ground and even viewing it from a low to mid-rise building. But, when I was up on CTC, it looks bright there and because I was looking down at it and of course at a closer distance.

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

LOL guys...our realities are different than theirs. But seriously, I think the angle of how the lighting systems on Liberty place affects how it looks from the ground and even viewing it from a low to mid-rise building. But, when I was up on CTC, it looks bright there and because I was looking down at it and of course at a closer distance.

I often capture the skyline from the New Jersey side, the lights show up on the photos but you can't even see the Liberty Place lights with the naked eye. And the missing sections that aren't lit makes it worse, these are the skylines trophy towers and they have a screwed up light system? I noticed a few months ago they turned on the white lights for the base of the pyramid on top BNY Mellon Center, I hope that's a sign they're fixing everything. But I believe the new lights on One Liberty really are more dim, here's the original lights to compare

[Knight Hospitaller]

^ The lighting for Liberty I and II are basically invisible unless you are in center city. Back in the Eighties, I could see One Liberty looking like a big Christmas tree from 22 miles away near Glassboro, NJ, where my sister lived at the time.

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

^ The lighting for Liberty I and II are basically invisible unless you are in center city. Back in the Eighties, I could see One Liberty looking like a big Christmas tree from 22 miles away near Glassboro, NJ, where my sister lived at the time.

And now in modern day, I can see the Comcast Technology Center lantern shine from my roof in Lawnside like a glow stick! Can't see Liberty Place from there, but I saw the FAA lights and FMC sign.

[iheartphilly]

^
Yeah, it dim at best on Liberty from a distance. No dispute about that. I'm wondering if residents in the buildings voiced concerns about the higher intensity of lighting. I forget which floors were converted to residential units years back.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Yeah, it dim at best on Liberty from a distance. No dispute about that. I'm wondering if residents in the buildings voiced concerns about the higher intensity of lighting. I forget which floors were converted to residential units years back.

If you can't stand the crown lighting, don't live in a high-rise (and/or buy heavier drapes). Seriously, I don't think that can be it. Every other major building's lights are brighter. I can't believe that a handful of condos in Two Liberty would drive this. The replacement of the original light tubes in both Liberty towers was the beginning of this problem.

[iheartphilly]

Well, easy for us outsiders to say. Not defending them, but if they are paying to live in the bldgs and they have a legit issue with it, their voice holds more weight. It's analogous to suburban developments that have a gripe with lights from businesses across the street affecting the ambiance into the bedrooms. Any new developments that run through townships are likely to have to deal with these real issues. Personal, it wouldn't affect me, but just throwing it out there as a plausible reason why the lights on the crown of these bldgs are purposely kept low.