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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.

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