Chicago Lightscape Lighting and Sound experience enhanced by DesignLab Chicago

	DesignLab Chicago designed clusters of giant LED-fiberglass reeds with programmed shows, music, and sound effects for Chicago's State Street for the Chicago Loop Alliance. Photo: Marty Peck.

When the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) wanted to attract more people to the shops and businesses of State Street they weren't sure exactly what type of experience they would create. They knew, however, that they wanted a unique placemaking installation that drew on the latest technology available.

DesignLab Chicago helped develop the solution in the form of clusters of giant LED-lit fiberglass "reeds" -- symbolic of the prairie grass that constituted a historic Chicago long since gone -- capable of creating coordinated light shows in conjunction with hidden sound systems.

DesignLab worked with a team of lighting professionals, show designers, and technology integrators to overcome challenges of wireless control, crowded bandwidth, and limited power supply to create a dynamic showpiece that has attracted thousands of visitors and continues to evolve.

"The multitude of LED-lit reeds allow Chicago Lightscape to essentially become a high-technology, low-resolution digital canvas," explains DesignLab's president Larry Schoeneman. A series of programmed shows combine music and sound effects with the colored lights, creating immersive experiences up close, and moving images from further away. "Its flexibility and durability have continued to make Lightscape a premier placemaking installation," added Schoeneman.

The CLA expanded the system in 2012 and has the capability to add the system to more streets in the future.