Archinect - News

So much for the controversial London Sphere after Mayor Sadiq Khan refuses planning permission

2023-11-20T18:54:00-05:00

The proposed MSG Sphere in East London has been scrapped with the late decision by Mayor Sadiq Khan to refuse planning permissions over grounds that its design causes a public nuisance to residents of the surrounding Stratford district.

The long-controversial Sphere had been derided by critics and locals alike since first being revealed in January of 2018. Myriad attempts at halting the application process had been lodged in the years leading up to Monday's decision. Populous, which has also developed its well-reviewed twin in Las Vegas, was responsible for the 21,500-capacity design proposal.

The issue of light pollution had always been a critical factor in its pending success as a proposed entertainment venue sited in place of the 4.7-acre former coach park of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Khan’s decision cited the issue along with two other factors for the refusal, including its huge operational costs and an overall lack of green credentials for the project. Its impact on se...

The future of London's MSG Sphere may be getting clearer despite concerns

2023-01-24T17:42:00-05:00

[The] MSG Sphere, a new concert hall planned for Stratford in east London – which would be as wide as the London Eye and as tall as Big Ben – could soon move a step closer to reality. On Tuesday evening, the planning committee of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will meet to consider its developer’s plans for managing the advertising display and its impact.

Efforts to halt the development of the Populous-designed entertainment venue date back to late 2020, when the public consultation phase for the project was extended for a third time over concerns about light pollution. Plans were approved by the LLDC in March of last year contingent on an agreement for a five-year review of the giant billboard’s 25-year advertising consent, which was accepted at Tuesday’s meeting. The project will now go before London Mayor Sadiq Khan for final approval.

Madison Square Garden (MSG)'s revised plan reportedly calls for a “suite of mitigation measures” to combat the effects of what would be the world's largest LED display. The intense visual impact of its Las Vegas counterpart is already being seen as a hazard.

A statement from the opposition group Stop MSG Sphere can be viewed below.

We gave it our best shot (the statement we gave at the meeting tonight is below). We're deeply disappointed no one voted against the paltry 5yr review on the 25YR adver...

Populous' London MSG Sphere is on the cusp of final approval in spite of objections

2022-03-17T11:58:00-04:00

A planning report for the scheme acknowledges criticism of the Sphere for its scale and massing, its impact on Stratford Station, and the impact of advertising on nearby residents. But it says the Sphere would ‘establish a strong sense of place at a scale that is not considered to be excessive, taking account of the established scale of surrounding buildings.

More than 1,000 objections were lodged against the project, which will come before the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) for a final approval vote on Tuesday. Their voices echo the derision Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright and others have parroted against the giant LED display’s ungainly light and noise pollution, murky politics, and sky-high price tag.

The public consultation process has been delayed several times over, but now appears to be inching towards the finish line, bringing out some of the opposition’s bigger names in a last-ditch effort to stop the Sphere from happening.

Previously on Archinect: Future of MSG Sphere London still undecided

“We are calling on the LLDC to refuse MSG’s application for a new venue in Stratford and encourage the Mayor of London to formally oppose this project in order to protect Newham’s residents and existing businesses from this inappropriate development,” a spokesperson for AEG, which operates London’s O2 Arena said in a letter ...

Pittsburgh is the latest city to join the dark-sky movement

2021-12-29T19:59:00-05:00

The Pennsylvania city announced in August it will become a dark sky city starting in 2022, meaning that it will switch to lower wattage LED bulbs and add shades along bridges, roads and other public areas. It’s the first city in the eastern part of the U.S. to adopt such policies but it joins other cities, including Tucson, Sedona and Flagstaff in Arizona, and Fulda in Germany, in their efforts to reduce light pollution and increase energy efficiency.

The dark-sky movement officially began in 1988, has produced events such as Earth Hour, and is currently expanding into other U.S. cities such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

Light pollution caused by stronger “white” LED fixtures has been shown to cause health and environmental harm along with negatively impacting the circadian rhythm of both humans and animals alike. To date, Pittsburgh has committed $16 million dollars to streetlight projects which will install about 40,000 fixtures in a period of 12–18 months. The city’s push is also beneficial to the reduction of traffic accidents and sense of pedestrian safety, according to Carnegie Mellon professor Diane Turnshek.

“It’s better for the environment, if you change to these low wattage and low color temperature lights,” she told Bloomberg. “It’s better for people’s health, better stars, and just across the board they’re better.”

Oliver Wainwright on the MSG Sphere's political tangle

2021-08-03T17:06:00-04:00

He [Kahn] was enthusiastic about welcoming “another world-class venue to the capital, to confirm London’s position as a music powerhouse” when the sphere was announced in 2018; yet the following year, his planning officers’ first report concluded that it did not comply with his own London Plan. He is in a bind. Will he side with the Labour borough and listen to the locals, or back his development corporation in the hope of using this brash bauble to buff the capital’s post-Brexit brand?

The Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright explores the sordid dealings behind the gigantic $1.8 billion orb he describes as "the apogee of 360-degree advertising, the ultimate building-as-sign […] the stuff of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s neon-soaked dreams."

The MSG Sphere fate is still very much up in the air ahead of a scheduled September planning council meeting. Residents in London's Stratford and nearby Hackney neighborhoods have lodged complaints pertaining to the light and noise pollution caused by the 4.7-acre LED-clad structure.

Future of MSG Sphere London still undecided

2020-11-23T15:46:00-05:00

It has been a long time coming but a decision on whether east London will get a slice of Las Vegas in the form of a state-of-the art entertainment venue almost as tall as St Paul’s may be nigh. [...] But the project, the brainchild of MSG’s chief executive, James Dolan [...] is proving divisive.

The Guardian reports that the public consultation period for the enormous Madison Square Garden Sphere entertainment venue — officially filed for planning application in March 2019 — had to be extended for a third time until the beginning of December due to locals' concern over light pollution and traffic impact.

U.S. skyscrapers kill about 600 million migrating birds a year — and Chicago, Houston, and Dallas are the deadliest cities

2019-04-11T15:13:00-04:00

An estimated 600 million birds are killed by buildings every year. Especially during spring and fall migrations, birds are attracted to the glow of residential homes and skyscrapers alike. Sometimes the birds crash directly into their windows. Other times, it seems to throw off their internal compass, causing them to circle until exhausted.

The saddening statistic comes from a 2014 study led by Scott Loss, an assistant professor of global change ecology and management at Oklahoma State University. More recently, a new study from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology found that Chicago, Houston, and Dallas are the top three U.S. cities that are especially deadly for birds, and artificial light at night is a contributing factor.

“Chicago, Houston, and Dallas are uniquely positioned in the heart of North America’s most trafficked aerial corridors. This, in combination with being some of the largest cities in the US, make them a serious threat to the passage of migrants, regardless of season,” said Kyle Horton, the lead author of the study, in a statement published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“Now that we know where and when the largest numbers of migratory birds pass heavily lit areas we can use this to help spur extra conservation efforts in these cities,” added study co-author Cecilia Nilsson.

Making changes like incorp...

MSG Sphere London proposal is taking shape; to feature world's 'largest and highest resolution LED screen'

2019-03-27T13:44:00-04:00

Details and designs have been revealed for the MSG Sphere London, a planned venue that would hold up to 21,500 people. [...] The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), which is behind the New York concert and sports venue of the same name, have bought a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) site in Stratford, adjacent to the Olympic Park and Westfield shopping centre, that was used as a coach park during the 2012 London Olympics.

Image: Madison Square Garden Company

Initially rumored in January 2018, London's sphere-shaped music venue proposal, designed by Populous, has substantially taken shape, and the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) behind the project has reportedly now filed planning documents. The plans have been received favorably by London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Image: Madison Square Garden Company

"According to the planning document, the sphere will be covered in LED panels that can display high-definition concert footage or advertising images – the designs suggest that the imagery will be clearly visible 150 metres away," reports The Guardian.

The project's website even touts the display wall as "the largest and highest resolution LED screen in the world."

Image: Madison Square Garden Company

Critics of the proposal have launched a petition against it, citing light pollution, increased traffic, failure to build housing at the site instead, and also the close connection of MSG executive chair, James Dola...

Chinese city to launch artificial moon into space. What could possibly go wrong?

2018-10-29T19:13:00-04:00

It might sound like a plot cooked up by a cartoon villain, but a city in southwestern China is aiming to launch into space an artificial moon that could replace streetlights by bathing the ground in a “dusk-like glow.” [...] the satellite’s mirror-like exterior would reflect sunlight down to Earth, creating a glow about eight times brighter than the moon. The artificial moon, which he said would orbit about 500 kilometers above Earth, could save $174 million in electricity from streetlights.

The capital of China's Sichuan province, Chengdu, could have its own illumination satellite 'moon' up in the skies by 2020, according to the People's Daily.

Light pollution, and its documented health effects on humans and nocturnal wildlife, doesn't seem to be much of a concern to the officials behind the audacious space-mirror scheme. As Kang Weimin, Director of the Institute of Optics, School of Aerospace at Harbin Institute of Technology, attempts to reassure: "The light of the satellite is similar to a dusk-like glow, so it should not affect animals’ routines." – Okay, we're all cool.

The history and future of New York City's streetlight system

2018-06-11T20:51:00-04:00

New York’s nightscape is as iconic [...] as it is taken for granted. A city without streetlights is impossible to imagine, but New York’s 396,572 street-side luminaires are as unremarkable as the streets’ paving — invisible until something changes. An initiative to replace sodium and halogen bulbs with energy- and cost-efficient LEDs has thrown the nightscape suddenly into question, as some city residents bemoan the loss of romance (and sleep).

In her piece for Urban Omnibus, landscape and urban designer Emily Schlickman takes a fascinating closer look at the history of New York City's system of street-side luminaires (the largest in the nation), and how the recent transition to LED technology is affecting the city and its residents—both people as well as nocturnal fauna.

Medical experts issue warning about street lights

2017-06-26T12:11:00-04:00

The American Medical Association (AMA) has just adopted an official policy statement about street lighting: cool it and dim it. The statement, adopted unanimously at the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago on June 14, comes in response to the rise of new LED street lighting sweeping the country. An AMA committee issued guidelines on how communities can choose LED streetlights to "minimize potential harmful human health and environmental effects."

There are two basic issues at hand. First, new, "white" LED lighting, which have a color temperature of between 4000K and 5000K, can cause discomfort and glare. This is because the light is concentrate and has high blue content, which can cause severe glare and force pupillary constriction. Second, these lights can impact human circadian rhythmicity, affecting our sleeping pattern. And, actually, it's not just human sleeping patterns at risk—wildlife migratory patterns are being disrupted as well.

LED streetlights may contribute to 'serious health conditions' says AMA, prompting cities to re-evaluate

2016-09-26T13:16:00-04:00

high-intensity LED streetlights ... emit unseen blue light that can disturb sleep rhythms and possibly increase the risk of serious health conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. [...] Some [researchers] noted that exposure to the blue-rich LED outdoor lights might decrease people’s secretion of the hormone melatonin. Secreted at night, melatonin helps balance the reproductive, thyroid and adrenal hormones and regulates the body’s circadian rhythm of sleeping and waking.

While the American Medical Association cautions cities to re-evaluate their use of high-intensity LED lights for health reasons, others have pointed out that most televisions and computers also emit the blue light wavelength found to be potentially harmful. Aside from human health concerns, LEDs are also "a major contributor" to anthropogenic light pollution in the night sky.

Related on Archinect:

This atlas shows how much light pollution has infiltrated night skies worldwide

2016-06-10T21:08:00-04:00

Where should you travel if you want killer views of the stars unblemished by artificial light?Certainly not the U.S. or Europe, where nearly 100 percent of the population endures some form of light pollution...Italy’s [ISTIL], NOAA, the National Park Service, and elsewhere built one of the most comprehensive atlases of global light pollution to date. They hope their work will set a benchmark for future generations struggling with day blending into night.

You can find the atlas of artifical sky brightness here.

Archinect - News

So much for the controversial London Sphere after Mayor Sadiq Khan refuses planning permission

The future of London's MSG Sphere may be getting clearer despite concerns

Populous' London MSG Sphere is on the cusp of final approval in spite of objections

Pittsburgh is the latest city to join the dark-sky movement

Oliver Wainwright on the MSG Sphere's political tangle

Future of MSG Sphere London still undecided

U.S. skyscrapers kill about 600 million migrating birds a year — and Chicago, Houston, and Dallas are the deadliest cities

MSG Sphere London proposal is taking shape; to feature world's 'largest and highest resolution LED screen'

Chinese city to launch artificial moon into space. ​What could possibly go wrong?

The history and future of New York City's streetlight system

Medical experts issue warning about street lights

LED streetlights may contribute to 'serious health conditions' says AMA, prompting cities to re-evaluate

This atlas shows how much light pollution has infiltrated night skies worldwide

Chinese city to launch artificial moon into space. What could possibly go wrong?