WAVE

WAVE honors the rich history of those piers that helped transform the City of New York into the thriving metropolis and desired destination it is today, while simultaneously seeking to track the ever shifting affects of climate change.

Harnessing the wake of traveling vessels up and down the waterway, WAVE reconstructs Pier 56 with brilliantly expansive vertically projected beams of light; their dynamic patterns evoking a sense of history, beauty and wonder. As ships of the Hudson River’s historic past engaged and activated the piers along Manhattan’s West Side, these maritime monoliths of wood and steel became an integral driving force in the city’s economy. WAVE invites the public into a moment of history and simultaneously, into a skyward sense of the future.

Utilizing Pier 56’s remaining pile field, ultrasonic sensor-controlled, energy-efficient LED fixtures are evenly leveled and mounted to these structures in a 5×25 grid. As its title suggests, WAVE’s primary method of activation is wave generated. As the wake from passing vessels travels through the pier’s underlying structure, the sensors are triggered and the light is activated. Secondarily, if waves are not at a level high enough to activate the sensors then WAVE is activated by the public via a touch-based kiosk located at a vantage point where the piece can clearly be seen and appreciated. Lastly, when both the wave and public generated methods are inactive, WAVE’s tertiary activation method is artist generated, using an open source programming language to display complex and dynamic patterns of light.

For the climate component, WAVE’s sensors remain active 24 hours a day. So, not only are they detecting maritime activity, but they are intermittently measuring the Hudson River’s overall level day and night. And when these surrounding water levels are measured, that information is then recorded, cataloged and made openly available for climate research initiatives. As the effects of climate change become undeniably apparent with each passing day, this type of information will become more and more crucial to addressing it head on.