On October 3rd, the 2009 South Atlantic Region Convention of the American Institute of Architects honored the best design projects from the states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Among those selected from over 200 submittals to win the top Honor Award recognitions was The Georgia Tech Power Wrap, an installation that originated in a COA student design workshop led by then Visiting Professor Amy Landesberg, now Assistant Professor of Interior Design at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design.
"Georgia Tech Power Wrap," designed by Amy Landesberg Architects and Georgia Tech architecture students, encloses and bathes the new electrical substation on the southwest side of campus in a constantly changing light show. When the substation, located near the intersection of Marietta St. and Northside Drive, was due for an update in 2005, Georgia Tech's Planning and Facilities Design & Construction divisions sought ways to improve the site's appearance and make it more a part of the campus. That inquiry resulted in Landesberg's involvement in leading a College of Architecture student workshop where all sorts of proposals materialized, from which a final design gradually emerged. All agreed that the station equipment should not be hidden, but rather that the views of it should attract interest in this massive node in the electrical grid. The students, including Erik Amir, Nikki Holt, Kiem Ho, Erin Lindley, Bryan Peter, and Nate Stone, presented their exciting design to Georgia Tech and eventually developed it into the built installation.
The 500 foot long enclosure consists of a series of columns supporting dozens of steel panels with slats or louvers. The slats are set at various angles, so that one sees different parts of what's inside, depending on where the viewer is standing. Inside, where high voltage transformers and switches distribute electric power, a pattern of colored lamps illuminates the equipment at night. These LED floodlights are controlled by a computer program, using the same kind of equipment employed for concerts and stage shows. The light show is reprogrammed periodically, and Landesberg hopes that other artists, members of the Georgia Tech community, or even members of the public might eventually be able to propose and execute customized presentations.
The Power Wrap is a translucent screen, employing a specifically designed fluctuating pattern to filter or sharpen views into the station. The fluctuating pattern strengthens the line of the street by camouflaging the location of four personnel gates and three full-bay, full-height vehicular gates. At the pedestrian level, pattern creates views into the station that seem alternately closed, partially open and fully open. Light flickers with motion and ominous insulators, buses and transformers come in and out of focus.
The success of the installation can be measured both in praise the project has received and in surprised stares of those who walk or drive by at night. Georgia Tech Power Wrap also won a prestigious 2007 Award of Merit from the Georgia branch of the American Institute of Architects, a 2008 Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, and it was included in the 2007 Year-In-Review of the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network.
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