Halo at the Hyatt Greenwich Hotel
Team: Can Vu Bui, Lane Rick and Sol Condo
Photography: Curioso
Halo is a site specific custom light fixture for the atrium of Hyatt’s newly renovated Greenwich Hotel. As a new centerpiece within a historic site, it balances between tradition and novelty, in both its form and its fabrication.
The fixture’s circular geometry is deeply embedded in the building’s history. Originally built in the 1920s as Conde Nast’s headquarters, the site plan featured a ring road approach that remains today. When it was converted to a hotel in 1986, the gesture was reinforced in arches and circular ornamentation on the building facade. The motif has since been echoed in round sconces and architectural elements throughout the public areas of the hotel. Halo amplifies this visual language, distilling it into a singular floating ring of light.
Suspended above the bar, Halo emanates a warm glow that spills onto the surfaces below, reflecting off a nearby fountain and filtering through the trees and foliage throughout the atrium. Its smooth interior profile contrasts the ribbed exterior silhouette, and provides changing perceptions and views as visitors move around the hotel.
While the milky, translucent light and brass fittings speak to the historic setting, the fabrication techniques that achieve the timeless, weightless effect are solidly contemporary. Composed of eight equal segments and hanging from the existing roof structure, the fixture was made with a 5-axis robot 3D printer. LEDs positioned within each segment provide an even glow across the undulating surface