flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Spireworks app lets users control a piece of the New York skyline

Spireworks app lets users control a piece of the New York skyline

Anyone with a smartphone can change the color of the lights at the Bank of America Tower and 4 Times Square.


By BD+C Staff | August 22, 2014

Mark Domino, the son-in-law of developer Douglas Durst, has developed an app, called Spireworks, that allows anyone with a smartphone to change the color of a building's lights. 

Durst installed the corresponding technology on two midtown skyscrapers—Bank of America Tower and 4 Times Square, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports. App users will be able to play with the light colors on the spire and antennae of the buildings, as well as add sparkles and pulses of light.

The project is still in the testing stages, and users can join only if invited by a current user. Durst says there are a few hundred users so far and estimates that about five people manipulate the lights per night. 

Domino and Durst told the New York Daily News that the project is meant to be a fun alternative to the Empire State Building, which changes its lights for the holidays. “People don’t believe you can do this,” Domino told the paper. 

The company is still unsure how many users can utilize Spireworks at once without crashing the system.

Related Stories

Architects | May 16, 2016

3 strategies to creating environments that promote workplace engagement

VOA's Pablo Quintana writes that the industry is looking for ways to increase engagement through a mix of spaces suited to employees' desire for both privacy and connection.

Architects | May 11, 2016

AIA to create a resilience curriculum for architects

The program will teach resilient design and decision-making on hazard mitigation, climate adaptation and community resilience.

Retail Centers | May 10, 2016

5 factors guiding restaurant design

Restaurants are more than just places to eat. They are comprising town centers and playing into the future of brick-and-mortar retail.

AEC Tech | May 9, 2016

Is the nation’s grand tech boom really an innovation funk?

Despite popular belief, the country is not in a great age of technological and digital innovation, at least when compared to the last great innovation era (1870-1970).

Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 6, 2016

NBA’s Atlanta Hawks to build new practice center with attached medical facilities

The team will have easy access to an MRI machine, 3D motion capture equipment, and in-ground hydrotherapy. 

Big Data | May 5, 2016

Demand for data integration technologies for buildings is expected to soar over the next decade

A Navigant Research report takes a deeper dive to examine where demand will be strongest by region and building type. 

Urban Planning | May 4, 2016

Brookings report details how different industries innovate

In the new report, “How Firms Learn: Industry Specific Strategies for Urban Economies,” Brookings' Scott Andes examines how manufacturing and software services firms develop new products, processes, and ideas.

Architects | May 3, 2016

Study finds engineering, architecture among the best entry-level jobs

The results balanced immediate opportunity, job growth potential, and job hazards.  

Architects | Apr 25, 2016

Notable architects design mini-golf holes for London Design Festival

Visionaries like Paul Smith, Mark Wallinger, and the late Zaha Hadid all helped in designing the course, which will be integrated into London’s Trafalgar Square.

University Buildings | Apr 25, 2016

New University of Calgary research center features reconfigurable 'spine'

The heart of the Taylor Institute can be anything from a teaching lab to a 400-seat theater.  

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Resiliency

Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue

A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021