The Design Trust for Public Space and Times Square Arts have selected the collaboration of Aranda \ Lasch + Marcelo Coelho as winners of this year’s Times Square Valentine Heart Design competition, for their 3D-printed proposal, Window to the Heart.
This year’s installation, Window to the Heart, leverages 3D printing to capture the Instagram zeitgeist. Envisioned as the “world’s largest lens,” the project team collaborated with Formlabs to design a 12-foot-wide 3D-printed Fresnel lens to collect and morph Times Square’s lights through a central, heart-shaped aperture. Each segment will be printed using transparent resin in lieu of glass, a material reflection on the changing nature of image capture and dissemination. Laufs Engineering Design – LED is providing structural engineering services for the project.
This year’s installation, Window to the Heart, leverages 3D printing to capture the Instagram zeitgeist. Envisioned as the “world’s largest lens,” the project team collaborated with Formlabs to design a 12-foot-wide 3D-printed Fresnel lens to collect and morph Times Square’s lights through a central, heart-shaped aperture. Each segment will be printed using transparent resin in lieu of glass, a material reflection on the changing nature of image capture and dissemination. Laufs Engineering Design – LED is providing structural engineering services for the project.
“Rather than using the traditional lens-making methods of casting, cutting, and repeatedly polishing glass, Window to the Heart will leverage the latest advances in design, materials, and fabrication to craft something that was previously unattainable. Each lens segment is 3D-printed at a high resolution by Formlabs using clear resin, a material capable of the unique surface quality and clarity required by optical elements. With the lens made entirely from a 3D-printed material instead of glass, Window to the Heart upends the centuries-old methods of lens-making to invite individuals to reimagine how they see and photograph the world,” explains Times Square Arts.
The other finalist proposals included below.
