all images courtesy of WXY

New York-based multidisciplinary design practice WXY Studio created a smart glass, titled ''The SeaGlass Carousel'', demonstrates an innovative collaboration of art and design to create a distinctly contemporary, ecologically themed environment for the Battery Bosque in Lower Manhattan. The project transforms the traditional ride structure into an instrument of the future with digital projection and electrified glass technology, or “Smart Glass.” An audio component combines environmental noise made by the moving parts of the structure with amplified original musical scores recorded live by New York City musicians.

The Carousel’s startling underwater theme echoes its location on the site of the first home of the New York Aquarium, at the edge of the New York Harbor near the old Battery. The spiraling structure is constructed with stainless steel and glass, forming a shell whose interior provides a white screen for the Carousel's underwater projections.

Using the paradigm of the magic lantern, the Smart Glass changes from clear to opaque as the ride begins, dimming the space to capture the experience of diving under water. As the carousel spins, the interior digital projections cast moving images on the building’s shell, animating the voyage.

Project Facts

Client: The Battery Conservancy

Status: Completed Fall 2014

Awards: Spirit of ABNY Award, Association for a Better New York SeaGlass Carousel

> via WXY Studio