A Scenic Design by Christian Fleming

In the latest of my Carnegie Mellon Scenic Design posts, I was thrilled to present a look at "Nyc", or No boundaries, an intriguing new piece by Christian Fleming. In this article, I will talk about this powerful and engaging group of students-many of which have made major in the computer science departments at CMU. It is interesting that, as these young adults are becoming more aware of their roles in creating a better world for everyone, they are also exploring creative alternatives to traditional forms of architecture. 

In addition to this compelling group, there are many other bright minds working on various projects that I am personally involved with. The goal is to help recognize and celebrate the beauty of our planet, while also developing innovative ways to preserve our natural resources. In order to realize that vision, it is important to work with talented students, faculty, and staff in all of the various departments.

When you walk into the spacious, renovated Science Center, you instantly will become immersed in the environment of Carnegie Mellon University. Just a few steps will take you to the mezzanine floors where you can take in the breathtaking views of downtown Pittsburgh. The mezzanine floors have been completely gutted and renovated. This project rejuvenated the entire Science Center and added new elevators, escalators, and circulation systems, as well as an expanded lobby. A tour of the facility, during which this scenic design by Christian Fleming was created, reveals the work that has been done on building such a modern institution.

My trip to the Science Center was organized as part of CMU's Stricter rete program, which helps build "smart cities" throughout the country. I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the building of the stairway connecting the Science Center to the campus. The staircase is not the typical wet and dry lift bridge common on many college campuses. Rather, this bridge has a carpet of sensors that sense the user's footfalls, which causes a series of lights to go on and off, which then transition to a bright, colored textured backdrop. This was a lovely, but simple design that really added to the sensation of walking into a real "smart city" at Carnegie Mellon.

Throughout my time at Carnegie Mellon, I had the opportunity to visit many other buildings, both public and private, that have incorporated this type of LED lighting into their design. Of course, I spent some time walking through the Science Center's new Science Terrace, which has an LED lighted floor with handrails and spiral staircases. As I neared the end of the spiral staircase, I could already feel the glow of my LED walking boots approaching. I had to stop myself from jumping down!

The staircase bridge was designed to accommodate both wheelchairs and standard footchairs. At one time, there was a tactile marker installed on the spiral stairs to help the visually impaired to navigate the stairs. That seemed to be a hit, at least in the tech department. But, I could see that someone had tried to implement this idea with a ribbon of LED lights strung up along the length of the stairway bridge. It would have been a beautiful addition to the building, but it just did not work well as an outdoor lighting solution.

LED lighting offers a number of benefits to outdoor applications. Because the light is so bright, it can be used as task lighting, accent lighting or general lighting. In addition, because the LED bulbs use very little energy, we are able to save money while not compromising performance.

The spiral stairway bridge in the Science Center has an interesting architectural element to it. I particularly like the "U" shape where the lights face when the stairway is turned around. It makes me want to step out into that space and appreciate all the ways that light interacts with matter. If we could make that same exact space easily adjustable with LED lights, perhaps we could have some kind of kinetic sculpture that was constantly changing.

Now, I'd like to see that space covered in LED lights. Maybe, even a solar light that charges on exposure to sunlight. Something that would be fun to look at as we walked from one end of the stairway to another. Perhaps we could also have LED lighting on the spiral staircase railing to light the way up. Any ideas?