awa_arkofreturn_pressrelease

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ARK OF RETURN AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK NY - UNVEILED Lighting Design by International Architectural Lighting Design Firm, AWA Lighting Designers, Brooklyn, NY

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:

Abhay Wadhwa Design Principal l CEO 61 Greenpoint Avenue Suite 306 Brooklyn NY 11222 212.473.9797 abhay@awalightingdesigners.com

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PROJECT OVERVIEW New York, NY – May 2015 – International Light-

ing Design Firm, AWA Lighting Designers, has completed the Ark of Return in New York, NY. The ‘Ark of Return’ is a memorial that will be permanently on display at the Plaza at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

“Acknowledge the Tragedy, Consider the Legacy, Lest We Forget” These three distinct phrases individually and collectively were established as the theme for the competition and form the inspiration for the design of the Permanent Memorial at the United Nations in Honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.”

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view of memorial looking north

PROJECT INNOVATION “The Ark of Return” memorial is a sacred space that is designed to psychologically and spiritually transport visitors to a place where acknowledgement, education, reflection and healing can take place. The intent of the lighting design is to heighten and accentuate the sense of the spiritual and sacred.

The lighting is seamlessly integrated into the stone of the memorial to blur the line between the hardness of the stone and the softness of the light. The linear uplighting of the niche for the body is integrated into the stone that protects the source from view and creates an etherial sense of place for the body.

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niche within the monument that holds human sculpture, called ‘the trinity figure’

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view of memorial looking east towards the East River

PROJECT TEAM CLIENT ARCHITECT YEAR VISUALS

WHO WE ARE

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United Nations Rodney Leon Architects 2014 - 2015 AWA