Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Lighting Design/Product Company Onelux Studio
Lead Designers Stephen Margulies, Yon Choy
Architecture Company Cook Fox Architects
Client Marymount School
Photo Credits Ines Leong
Completion Date August 15, 2025
Project Location New York, NY
Entry DescriptionIn the competitive landscape of New York City’s private schools, Marymount’s new East 97th Street building stands out through its innovative architectural and lighting design. At its heart, a luminous commons features sculptural, tree-shaped columns with illuminated fins that diffuse soft, indirect light across a block-wide ground floor. Each fin integrates dual-direction bendable LEDs, with wiring cleverly concealed at branch intersections—balancing spatial efficiency, energy use, and visual clarity, all confirmed through full-scale mockups. This seamless blend of daylight and dynamic lighting accentuates the expressive geometry while fostering a nurturing, inspirational environment for learning and community engagement.
Sustainability ApproachOne of the most compelling aspects of the system is its efficiency. Designed to operate at 50% below New York City’s energy code for the entire building, we were able to utilize the energy effectively at this most important space in the project. The lighting plays a key role in helping the building achieve LEED Gold certification. This proves that environmental responsibility and design excellence can go hand in hand—especially in spaces dedicated to education and community.
