A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces, which include swimming pools, a gymnasium, theater, classrooms, recreation, and dance spaces. The glass wall will be fitted with an LED light display, designed in conjunction with Tillotson Design Associates, that illuminates to a music score entitled “Water,” by New York composer Michael Schumacher. Schumacher’s score will also be etched on the center’s façade as a bar code; the music can be heard within the building only when an app is downloaded into a smartphone. The building is targeting LEED Platinum. Other green features include pool filters that clean water using minimal chemicals and minimize water waste, graywater recycling, and native landscaping. Stalco Construction is the contractor.
Architects