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

| Oct 9, 2014

Beyond the bench: Meet the modern laboratory facility

Like office workers escaping from the perceived confines of cubicles, today’s scientists have been freed from the trappings of the typical lab bench, writes Perkins+Will's Bill Harris.

| Oct 8, 2014

New tools for community feedback and action

Too often, members of a community are put into a reactive position, asked for their input only when a major project is proposed. But examples of proactive civic engagement are beginning to emerge, write James Miner and Jessie Bauters.

| Oct 8, 2014

Massive ‘healthcare village’ in Nevada touted as world’s largest healthcare project

The $1.2 billion Union Village project is expected to create 12,000 permanent jobs when completed by 2024.  

| Oct 8, 2014

First look: Woods Bagot unveils plans for new Christchurch Convention Center

The locally-inspired building is meant to serve as a symbol of the city's recovery from the earthquake of 2011.

| Oct 8, 2014

Denver transit project wins design-build Project of the Year honor

The Denver Union Station Transit Improvement Project is among 25 projects honored by the Design Build Institute of America for excellence in design-build project delivery.

| Oct 7, 2014

Analysis: Student loans will cost housing industry $83 billion in 2014

More than 410,000 single- and multifamily home sales will be lost in 2014 due to student loan debt, according to analysis by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Sponsored | | Oct 7, 2014

Boost efficiency with advanced framing

As architects continue to search for ways to improve building efficiencies, more and more are turning to advanced framing methods, particularly for multifamily and light commercial projects. 

| Oct 7, 2014

Economic gains are rallying rents in Raleigh, N.C.

The greater Raleigh, N.C., market appears to be getting back on its feet again, which is good news for rental property owners.

| Oct 7, 2014

Structured, not stirred: The architecture of cocktails [infographic]

In this downloadable graphic, technologist Shaan Hurley dissects 37 cocktails and analyzes their architectural makeup. 

| Oct 6, 2014

Moshe Safdie: Skyscrapers lead to erosion of urban connectivity

The 76-year-old architect sees skyscrapers and the privatization of public space to be the most problematic parts of modern city design. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Codes and Standards

New FEMA rules include climate change impacts

FEMA’s new rules governing rebuilding after disasters will take into account the impacts of climate change on future flood risk. For decades, the agency has followed a 100-year floodplain standard—an area that has a 1% chance of flooding in a given year.


Construction Costs

Data center construction costs for 2024

Gordian’s data features more than 100 building models, including computer data centers. These localized models allow architects, engineers, and other preconstruction professionals to quickly and accurately create conceptual estimates for future builds. This table shows a five-year view of costs per square foot for one-story computer data centers. 

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