Overview
Construction of the largest H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) store to be located centrally in Times Square, New York City. Benefiting the status of one of the world’s biggest brands and retail fleet, this new addition was to feature massive LED lighting systems and displays, state-of-the-art retail technologies (such as Try and Buy stations) and was to become H&M’s latest & greatest flagship store.
H&M Hearts NYC
When Swedish retail giant H&M decided to build a new retail outlet in one of New York City’s most infamous destinations, they knew this one had to make a visual and thematic impact. The 42,000 square foot flagship turned out to be on the leading-edge of technology and fashion with credit given to gargantuan LED lighting systems, 7000 square foot illuminated displays, and other retails features which include interactive mannequins, and digital fashion catwalks for consumers
Conceptually, what H&M wanted to achieve thematically with their latest new retail addition seemed simple enough, but in practice would prove to be a very convoluted and scrupulous effort from any and all designers involved in the project: to make the store feel like a New Year’s Eve party, all year-round, day and night, music, decorations and all. And Lady Gaga should have the honor of cutting the ribbon on opening day.
Glamorous, Awe-Inspiring Illumination
It was determined that BL Flexform D3 Series lighting systems could provide the linear accent the designers had in mind when illuminating the seemingly endless rows of escalators. The intent of the accent was for direct-view as the D3 Series was to be strategically installed on the lower trim of each staircase in parallel runs, so to eliminate the potential of visible LED diodes, the D3 Series was installed into BL Fixform S2215 channels.
The optic chosen was a round, yet low-profile and therefore created a rather smooth, minimalist effect. Further, the optic lovingly absorbed the 350 plus lumens per foot delivered by the D3 Series to generate a perfectly uniform, beaming line of light in congruent 4000K. The BL Fixform aluminum extrusions also provided a substantial heat-sink for a flexible linear product as powerful as the BL Flexform D3, ultimately ensuring the longest possible life to the LEDs.
BL LED Drivers were integrated into the lighting package so to provide the customer with quick and easy control the output of the lighting with simple Phase dimming protocols. Being an interior application, the incorporated junction boxes meant the system was a modest and speedy installation as no added enclosure boxes were required.
Creating Inherently Animated Space Through Lighting Design
Some things you might find in a NYE club environment? Glitz. Loud music. Reflective, mirrored surfaces… and a massive amount of decorative and functional lights. Creating a space that is inherently animated through lighting design means a true spread of technologies and functions. Piercing decorative lighting accents through colossal amounts of ambient illumination is no easy feat, and must be carefully calculated in order to generate the desired effect. And BL Flexform and BL Fixform systems had the sophistication of delivery to provide exactly that.
