Completed in 1986, 599 Lexington Avenue is a 47-story modernist building. The client felt that the lobbies needed an update to attract new tenants and improve visibility from the street. The architect preferred the original architecture to be respected proposing only a new ceiling and desk turning the project into a lighting intervention. The exterior canopy and the north face made it challenging to achieve the client’s desire for daytime street presence. Further complicating matters, the rear wall of the lobby had a large bas-relief artwork. The final lighting solutions provide a refreshingly clean modern look to the lobby, respectful of the architecture and noticeable from the street, even in daylight.

Polished stone walls in the lobby did not catch light with wall-grazing and showed reflections with wall-washing, suggesting that a luminous ceiling was necessary for their illumination. The solution of suspended vertical fins edge-lit with appropriate luminosity blended with the architecture providing connection to existing façade fins and filled the lobby with light. Carefully placed framing projectors with custom gobos created in-situ made the art pop even during daytime while limiting spill and minimizing shadows. Smaller-sized pendants enliven the elevator lobbies, adding to the dynamic experience of tenants and visitors. A smaller scaled version of the lobby pendant, arranged in a close grid, is tethered to each elevator bank for wayfinding.

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