Arup lighting designer Jake Wayne worked with the architects and engineers to integrate daylighting and effective nighttime strategies. On the eastern parapet, tall canted panels are spaced with strips of structural self-cleaning glass in a sawtooth formation to create a sense of transparency. As the bridge sweeps across the tracks, the glazing infuses the span with sunlight and opens it to Boston views. After dark, linear LEDs behind the glass, removable from inside the bridge, wash light onto the burnished surfaces. Across the deck, the same luminaires are tucked into a cove beneath the tightly overlapping panels of the west parapet, illuminating the concrete walkway. Encapsulated within metal-sheathed plexiglass housing, the lighting radiates to the outer surfaces of the bridge, producing an otherworldly effect. Wayne chose a constant 3000-Kelvin color temperature that resonates with the steel and provides a balanced white light that is neither too warm nor too cool.

The solid parapet fades into a pierced pattern as it moves north, where an illuminated handrail guides pedestrians to and from the span. Photo © Chuck Choi

“The bridge architecture is plenty dynamic, so there is no need for a light show,” he says. Instead, all is neat and accessible. Every fixture has its own individually addressable driver, each with a dedicated DMX channel that ultimately links to the ISEC control system. All lighting components are concealed in a hollow beneath the vertical panels, and wiring is carried to the opposite parapet through conduits in the deck flutes.

Accessed by stair, ramp, or elevator, this finely tuned crossing lands on gracious north and south plazas, inviting students and the community to enjoy the sum of its parts.