685 Third Avenue is located just steps away from New York’s historic Grand Central Terminal. The building, on some of the most valuable real estate in the country, was recently renovated to infuse a state of well-being into its patrons and visitors. The new design embeds the scientifically proven methods of Human-Centric Lighting, matching our circadian rhythms through dynamic color temperature changes, while also integrating natural elements such as plant life. 685 Third Avenue’s ownership wanted their space to present a welcoming feeling of wellness combined with modern style, and an earth-conscious design in the corporate environment. The lighting design for the lobby was key in realizing this vision.

The architect and ID set the stage with organic materials such as warm woods and organic stone patterns framed by rigid cool tones of human-made materials such as metals and glass to suggest the reflectivity of water. It was our goal to cultivate these themes through the lighting design.

One of the challenges in bringing the space to life was the drastic ceiling height variations.
Ranging from an underground single story height to triple height ceilings, it was important to maintain a consistent brightness throughout the space, while not allowing any oppressive impact from the low ceiling space. This was accomplished by photometric studies of downlighting the space and implementing a creative presence of light beyond the visible plane. An architectural feature that allowed us to explore this was the grid array of columns. Our goal was to create an appealing space despite the limited height. In order to create this reveal of a dimension beyond the finished ceiling, we coordinated cove lighting in each column’s ceiling detail, wrapping them with hidden tunable white fixtures. This gave the effect that each column shot into the sky, and that there was a plane beyond the ceiling.

Our next focus in designing the space was supporting a slow growth process of the living plants in the space. Plant life was important to the client, and was a challenge due to the lack of sunlight below ground level. After thorough research, Sunlike technology became clear as our solution to presenting a standardized 3000K warm white downlighting and having an added layer of plant growth support. The Sunlike-equipped fixtures mimic sunlight by emitting full spectrum light to support the plants and render colors more accurately, creating a greater sense of well-being.

In addition to the main lobby space, an amenities space was constructed to boost our wellness approach to the project featuring a softly lit ceiling. The space is calming and meditative, allowing users to sit and close their eyes to completely feel the relaxation effects of the color, intensity, and movement of light.

The lighting design for 685 Third Avenue is truly state-of-the-art. It represents an incredible commitment to problem-solving and human well-being, delivering beautiful and clean aesthetics.