Pier Into the Future

Jeff Petersen is president of American Signcrafters (Islip, NY).

To boost NYC’s profile as a cruise-ship destination, NYCruise and the NYC Economic Dev. Corp. (EDC) commissioned the development of a brilliantly lit façade for Piers 88 and 90, the primary docks at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. The piers were originally built in the 1930s to accommodate cruise ships, but hadn’t been updated since the 1970s. The facades previously conveyed an industrial, almost sterile, appearance, with painted numerals on the entrance elevations. Clearly, these didn’t provide the face the NYC tourism industry wanted visitors to see. Although several cruise lines use the Terminal, the Carnival and Norwegian lines are its primary customers.

Understandably, such a high-profile, large-scale project required close collaboration. Two Twelve Assoc., an NYC-based, environmental-graphic-design firm, developed the original design intent with the project’s architect, Bermello, Ajamil & Assoc. Two Twelve also specified the lightsource and materials. American Signcrafters produced the construction drawings and worked with our engineering firm to create engineering drawings. We reported to Turner Construction, the general contractor, during the project. Focus Lighting (NYC) developed the lighting system, which WSP Flack + Kurtz engineered.

Having been in business since 1979, we’ve undertaken such high-profile projects as Miami’s Dolphin Mall and numerous bank-sign changeovers – Wells Fargo, TD Bank and Capitol One, among others. NYC-based King Displays and Eagle Master Signs contracted us to build the sign components and manage their installation.

Both pier signs measure 30 ft. long, and the vertical sections average 13 ft. 4 in. tall. The letters and numerals comprise 3⁄16-in.-thick, white Sheffield Makrolon® polycarbonate, which we specified because it’s more forgiving to the letters’ required twists and bends as they follow the canopy’s surface. We fabricated the faces on our Gerber Scientific Products AR-600 CNC router, and detailed the shapes with rubber mallets, pliers, snips, cordless drills and screwdrivers.

Building the 3-D radius contours in the letterforms created the project’s greatest challenge. We worked within very tight tolerances; the forms had to fit the canopy support structure that was fabricated by another vendor. To do this, we manufactured custom, wood and plywood forms that were based on the steel canopies’ structure. Then, we shaped the letters as they were constructed to their contours.

Advertisement

Onsite, it was challenging to install the forms over the canopies. Because we were the last layer of construction, we had to wait for Karman Iron Works to finish fabricating the steel canopy, and not obstruct Girandola & Suskind’s aluminum-sheathing process. Turner did a great job coordinating the whole project.

According to Michael Cummings, Focus Lighting’s project designer, in addition to the easy maintenance, LEDs’ color-changing capabilities made the technology the natural choice for the project. NYCruise and the NYC EDC tasked WSP Flack + Kurtz with finding a firm that specialized in LED and kinetic lighting, and they recommended Focus Lighting.

Focus Lighting developed four layers of illumination for the signs; all use Philips Color Kinetics products. On the face of the perforated-steel panels, ColorGraze™ Powercore, a narrow-profile, linear fixture, provides surface lighting. ColorBlast, an RGB floodlight illuminates the structure behind the sign. iColor Flex SLX LED strands illuminate the individual letters and provide an additional halo-lighting layer.

To enliven the signs, Focus developed several post-sundown, animation programs, which include a kinetic rendition of sunset over the Hudson River, which morphs into a branded show that promotes NYC Cruise and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Every hour, the numerals’ colors morph to replicate a lighthouse beacon’s bright-white illumination, and, at the bottom of every hour, it transitions into a blue, aquatically themed program.

To create the intricate animation program, Focus Lighting developed four layers of light. Each letter receives backlighting and a halo lighting from 7,500 RGB LED nodes. Placing each node of the Philips Color Kinetic modules required careful testing and engineering to ensure optimal brightness for each animation. The perforated-steel support panels also receive both frontlighting and backlighting from the illumination.

And, to ensure the lighting emits minimal glare to motorists on nearby highways, a valance was installed that muffles brightness in that direction. The valance entails a metal sheet that’s installed along the front of the signface that’s installed at a bent angle to deflect excessive brightness away from high-traffic areas.

Advertisement

To manage the animation program, Philips Color Kinetics provides a Light System Manager to accompany the modules. To manage the playback, Focus Lighting also installed an Interactive Technologies Cue Server. The system also allows user control, which enables Norwegian and Carnival to incorporate brand-identity programs when their ships are in port, as well as holiday or special-event graphics.
 

Equipment and Materials
Lighting: iColor Cove Flex modular LED lighting, from Philips Color Kinetics (Bur-lington, MA), (888) 385-5742 or www.colorkinetics.com
Router: CNC router, from Gerber Scientific Products (Tolland, CT), (800) 222-7446 or www.gspinc.com
Signface: White, 5⁄16-in.-thick, white Makrolon® polycarbonate, from Sheffield Plastics (Sheffield, MA), (800) 628-5084 or www.sheffieldplastics.com.
Tools: Rubber mallets, pliers, snips, cordless drills and screwdrivers, available at home-improvement and hardware stores.
 

More about American Signcrafters
Established in 1979, Islip, NY-based American Signcrafters has expanded from its Long Island roots and now designs, fabricates and installs sign programs nationwide. The company also maintains offices in New Jersey and Florida. The company produces high-volume bank signage, as well as custom signs for malls, shopping centers and other retail spaces. For more information, call (877) 278-0700 or visit www.americansigncrafters.com.