The women, including Miley Cirus, Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Hudson, Melissa Etheridge and others along with host Paula Abdul, performed a three-hour live concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music before attending an after-show party at the neo-Romanesque styled Williamsburgh Savings Bank, a Brooklyn landmark since its completion in 1929.
Standing at 512 feet and renamed One Hanson Place, the structure is the tallest building in Brooklyn and second tallest on Long Island. The tower is fitted with a four-sided clock, the largest in the world until 1962, and is capped by a gilded copper dome. The building was named a historic landmark in 1977.
The upper floors have recently been converted from offices to high-end condos, some of which encompass an entire floor. Only the former bank lobby remains open to the public and is used for receptions and private parties. Lighting the marble lobby with its 40ft (12.2m) tall windows and 63ft (19.2m) vaulted ceiling fitted with elaborate mosaics brought several challenges to lighting designer Richard Tatum of L&M Sound and Light, the venue's exclusive lighting firm.
New York City's Landmark Commission oversees historic landmarks and Tatum said the commission has strict guidelines for work that is done. "You can't damage, change or alter architectural landmarks and we had to take that into account as we designed the lighting system," Tatum said.Then, there was the issue of the lights themselves. Tatum, who started with L&M on 1 September, said company owner Lou Mannarino has a philosophical commitment to utilize energy-efficient technologies whenever possible.
Tatum was unfamiliar with Chauvet LED lights but decided to incorporate 16 Chauvet COLORado 1 and 24 COLORdash Battens along with traditional lighting fixtures: he used the COLORdash Battens to uplight the enormous windows and the COLORado 1 fixtures to uplight the architectural columns.Rich, warm, feminine colours added drama. "The venue itself is spectacular," Tatum said. "When it comes to architectural places such as One Hanson in particular, it's all about the architecture. If you uplight and highlight the architecture you are lighting the space."
As for the LED lighting, Tatum was impressed. "I'm so impressed with the quality of the fixture itself and, more importantly, the extraordinary quality of the light they emit for creating beautifully designed environments," he said.
(Lee Baldock)
