ARMANI LIGHT COLUMN FILTERS
The tragedy of 9/11 had an impact on so many New Yorkers on so many levels. With regard to working life, no other industry felt this impact harder than advertising. Many campaigns came to an abrupt halt. Magazines got thinner. Many fabrication shops relocated or closed permanently.
An opportunity very unexpectedly came along that allowed me to continue my detour from landscape architecture a little longer. An architect approached us to make a series of what we called light filters or lenses. These filters were to surround columns of lights at the Emporio Armani store in SoHo.
In order to deliver this project, I partnered up with my friend and colleague George Jenne, and an operation in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo called Bandolier.
For months, we sanded custom 13'-0" long x 4'-0" wide sheets of extruded acrylic in order to put a satin finish on the faces. This process necessitated a Zen-like patience and diligence as extruded plastic pills like crazy from the heat of the orbital sanding.
With the indispensable help of a plywood jig designed by my friend Marshall Wilson, we glued the acrylic sheets together with PS-30, an adhesive often used in the manufacture of aquariums. The clamping of the pieces had to be done carefully to get a bubble-free joint.
Infinite thanks to Brandon Angle and Miles Kemp for their friendship and dedication during this wild and very transitional time.
Shop: Bandolier
Jig design: Marshall Wilson of WilsonBuilt
Fabrication and finishing: George Jenne, John Merritt, Brandon Angle, Miles Kemp
