Back in September, Archinect published INABA's winning entry for the first-ever Flatiron Plaza Holiday Design Competition. Titled "New York Light," the public artwork was recently installed for the holidays and is now open to the public on...well, Flatiron Plaza.

Project description from INABA:

The Flatiron Plaza is a unique space in New York.

Standing in the middle of the plaza people can see two of the city’s great landmarks: the Flatiron and Empire State buildings. It is a place to experience the magnificence of Manhattan’s urban plan – with a dramatic view of Broadway cutting diagonally through the famous grid. And because Madison Square Park creates a clearing in the urban fabric, the plaza is one of the few places in the heart of the city to see the skyline from street level.

Our public art installation ‘New York Light’ pays tribute to the special urban experiences from this one-of-a-kind vantage point. Designed to echo the form of the plaza’s namesake building, the prow of the structure frames the Flatiron. At the other end, the steel tube installation opens northward toward Broadway and Fifth Avenue outlining a view of the Empire State.

Hundreds of mirror-finished panels hang from the structure so visitors standing inside can see these views surrounded by partial reflections of the immediate neighborhood. For the city that never sleeps, animated LEDs illuminate the structure at night inviting opportunities to take photos with friends or of oneself with the plaza’s urban landscape in the background.

In addition to offering passersby with these perspectives, ‘New York Light’ serves as an illuminated backdrop for events. Performers stand at the north end while the structure provides a visual buffer to traffic along 23rd St.

The area’s beautiful evening light comes from the many residential buildings facing the plaza. They cast a glow that’s softer than in the flashier more commercial squares along Broadway with a hue that is more indicative of the public spaces in the city’s many residential neighborhoods. It’s this quality that ‘New York Light’ tries to replicate and literally reflect this holiday season.

Project Organizers:
Flatiron 23rd Street Partnership: Jennifer Brown, Jane Kojima
Van Alen Institute: David van der Leer, Jerome Chou

Project Team:
INABA: Jeffrey Inaba, Darien Williams, Yoichiro Mizuno, Zhonghan Huang Tillotson Design Associates: Suzan Tillotson, Erin Dreyfous, Megan Pfeffer bengal.fierro: Tomer Bengal, Carlos Fierro
Robert Silman Associates: Nat Oppenheimer, Pat Arnett, Paul Laroque
Walsh Electrical Contractors: Ryan Walsh, Mike Acquesta
Photography: Naho Kubota, Cameron Blaylock, Zhonghan Huang

With additional generous support from DLC, International Lights, Crestron, Bartco Lighting

Find additional images in the project gallery below and concept renderings here.