The New York Times Building
and Times Center Auditorium
New York, NY/USA

Nighttime lighting reinforces the New York Times Building’s elegance through a precise gradation of light: brightest at the base of the tower and tapering to a soft glow at its summit. This was a formidable technical challenge since there were no ledges or setbacks on which to conceal lighting equipment. Lights equipped with state-of-the-art optics were used to stretch illumination across the entire 850’ tall wall.

Close-up, lighting fixtures are customized to match architectural detailing and playfully painted taxicab yellow, contributing to the streetscape of the Times Square District site.

In the lobby, lighting highlights the building’s integrated exterior and interior architecture. By controlling illumination levels through the depth of the space, the scheme draws one’s gaze through the interior garden courtyard and into the glass-walled Times Center auditorium space beyond.

Client: New York Times Company, LLC and Forest City Ratner Company
Design Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop with FX Fowle
Photos: Frieder Blickle (1, 3, 4, 5b, 6, 7b, 8), Michel Denancé (2), OVI (5a, 7a)