Garden Club of the Back Bay member Susan Ashbrook brought this Copley Square competition to our attention. SHIFTBoston is asking artists, architects, urban planners, sculptors, lighting designers, and landscape architects around the world to envision a new approach to activating Copley Square in Boston with a lighting installation. In their GLOW Competition, SHIFT is looking for proposals which will make the space one of the greatest squares in the world to visit at night. Teams are invited to enter, and winners will be given two months to work with a professional from Boston Light Source to develop lighting specifications for their proposal. In April, a jury will review the three final proposals and select the one that is most technically feasible and suitable to the overall program goal. The winning proposal will be featured as part of the upcoming Fairmont Copley Plaza Anniversary celebration and planned for installation in 2013. Entries are due by February 3, 2012. All eligible entries will be promoted on the SHIFTboston blog and website and will become part of the SHIFTboston GLOW book in 2012. The international jury includes the following:
– Ana Bassat: Architect, Principal of b720; Barcelona, Spain
– Helmut Bien: Director of Luminale and Luminapolis.com; Germany
– Bill Kenney: General Manager of Copley Place Simon Property Group; Boston, MA
– Mark Loeffler: Lighting Designer, Director of Atelier Ten; New Haven CT
– Otto Piene: Painter, Artist, Lighting sculptor; Groton MA
– Nader Tehrani: Principal of NADAAA, Boston MA
– Paul Zaferiou: Lighting Designer, Principal of Lam Partners; Boston MA
The Garden Club of the Back Bay has taken no official position on the appropriateness of additional lighting in Copley Square, but is in conversation with The Friends of Copley Square, The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, and local government officials reviewing the proposed competition.
