river glow
green guest installation
Postponed due to waterfront construction
Designers/Inventors David Benjamin and Soo-in Yang
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
New York, New York
A real-time
interface to water quality and public interest in the environment
A network of floating transparent tubes in Elliott Bay at Waterfront Park house a range of sensors
below water and an array of lights above water. The sensors monitor
water quality and human interest in the marine eco-system. The lights respond to the sensors and create feedback loops between humans, marine life, and their shared envi-ronment.
An SMS interface allows citizens to text-message the bay to receive real-time information about water quality.
Instead of treating the bodies of water with a do-not-disturb approach, the project encourages curiosity and engagement. Instead of treating the water as a reflective surface to mirror our own image and our own architecture, the project establishes a two-way interface between environ-ments of land and water.
The installation creates a dynamic and captivating layer of light above the surface of the water and makes visible the invisible; maps a new ecology of people, marine life, buildings, and public space; and sparks public interest and discussion.