Dynamic Lantern, 61 Oxford Street

Located at the corner of Oxford and Soho Streets in London’s prime shopping district, 61 Oxford Street is a distinctive six-story, 35,000 sq. ft. building home to deluxe retail space, offices, and residential apartments.

The building’s character is largely defined by rippling glass façades reminiscent of oriel (bay) windows that were popular in London shops during the late 19^th century. Inspired by a corner tower on the building that was previously located on the site, 61 Oxford Street features a glazed lantern structure that spans from the 5^th to the 7^th story of the building.

StudioFractal Lighting Design was commissioned to design a light art installation for the lantern and turned to Architainment Lighting, who proposed Color Kinetics iColor Flex MX gen2, a multi-purpose, high-intensity strand of full-color LED nodes for generating extraordinary lighting effects, including patterns and video. Forty-five custom length strands ranging from 26 nodes to 71 nodes were installed inside the lantern and attached to a specially designed frame that follows the undulating glass. A controller manages a series of lighting scenes based on the seasons and nature that display automatically throughout the year and specific scenes that mark holidays and other special days.

Westminster Council, British Airways Trustees, and AHMM Architects, who designed 61 Oxford Street, are delighted with the light installation, which helped the project win a RIBA National Award.