Many urban areas are made to be passed through. No matter the walkability or infrastructure of a city, most people are just trying to get from point A to point B. This presents a challenge: how do you get people to linger, shop, and leave with a memorable experience instead of a vague blur of the skyline? The answer: placemaking.
Placemaking is a means for activating a space through light, sound, or other immersive sensory avenues. It creates opportunities for passersby to become audiences and for ordinary spaces to become extraordinary destinations. These activations can be open to the general public or ticketed – the important part is that they bring new appreciation to a place and open it up to increased foot traffic.
Placemaking…creates opportunities for passersby to become audiences and for ordinary spaces to become extraordinary destinations.”
It can be hard to know where to start when tackling a placemaking project. Luckily, Lightswitch is adept at transforming everyday environments into unforgettable experiences.
Brightening Prospects
Lighting design is an integral part of placemaking. Turning gray cityscapes into wonderlands full of personality takes a skilled lighting team – which is where Lightswitch comes in. Our expertise in the field of placemaking goes back decades and includes projects in both dense urban hubs and picturesque natural settings. The Ascension St. Vincent parking garage in Indianapolis is an excellent example of our team’s urban placemaking skills. Through thoughtful architectural lighting, we transformed this unremarkable parking structure into a visually striking space that offers visitors a moment of beauty as they go about their day.
Another example of our team’s placemaking prowess is our work with Descanso Gardens in Southern California. These lovely botanical gardens were looking to attract crowds in the slower winter months. Lightswitch created two immersive end-of-year installations for Descanso: “Carved” for the fall season and “Enchanted Forest of Light” for the winter holidays. Both installations use light, art, and music to guide guests on a mile-long walk through immersive environments, illuminating the natural beauty of the gardens. Both “Carved” and “Enchanted” are opportunities for audiences to make memories – and keep coming back year after year. This required establishing a long-lasting relationship with the client through clear communication and logistical responsibility. With projects like “Enchanted,” which has been remounted each winter since 2016, we lay the groundwork for magical experiences that spark return visits.
“Projects like “Enchanted”... lay the groundwork for magical experiences that spark return visits.”
Lightbulb Moment
Often, these partnerships lead to further placemaking opportunities. When representatives of the City of Beverly Hills saw the magic of “Enchanted,” they reached out to Lightswitch, asking us to help increase foot traffic and heighten engagement during the city’s annual BOLDHolidays activation. Since then, we’ve helped enhance the holiday decorations of Beverly Hills every year, attracting visitors to the city’s “Golden Triangle” after dark. Our lighting installations above iconic thoroughfares and our captivating light+art show in the famous Beverly Gardens Park lily pond make for an unforgettable night out on the town, and have become a favorite end-of-year tradition for the city.
It’s serendipitous moments like these that add creativity to the business of placemaking. The Lightswitch team is well-versed in identifying a problem and composing an elegant solution, whether our client is a botanic garden, a downtown strip, or any other large-scale venue. Sometimes these solutions are permanent, other times they’re annual – and occasionally, placemaking becomes an even more temporary and timely endeavor, such as with the upcoming Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Let the Games Begin
Placemaking for gardens and holiday light shows is one side of the coin – the other is a realm that is becoming increasingly prevalent: placemaking for sporting events. While our clients for all these projects often look similar, placemaking for sports presents unique challenges and requires different considerations. Rather than creating an immersive experience designed to boost interaction with nature or investment in a city’s retail offerings, the people behind sporting events are often looking for an installation that capitalizes on a guaranteed spike in visitors.
“With the Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles, the time is ripe for developing fun and memorable placemaking strategies.”
Iconic structures like LAX, the Hollywood Bowl, and SoFi Stadium present rich opportunities to craft visitor experiences full of branded photo ops and atmospheric immersion.
We’ve Got the Solution
No matter the space, Lightswitch is ready to devise the perfect combination of light+art to transform it from everyday to unforgettable. Through our tested threefold philosophy, which balances creative, logistical, and financial goals to create fantastic, achievable results, our team works with every client to tailor a unique lighting solution to their needs.
We know your place deserves attention and engagement, and we have the expertise to make that a reality. Reach out to us at placemaking@lightswitch.netwith a challenge, and we’ll get started finding the solution today.