Check out some progress photos after the jump of what will soon be New York City's first 100 percent green-powered electronic billboard. The Ricoh eco-billboard will be a 47 - by 126-foot solar - and wind-powered installation that will light up the south face of the Reuters Building (3 Times Square) along 42nd Street at the corner of 7th Avenue. We wrote about the sign last summer and the photos- which we snapped last Friday- show that 3 of the photovoltaic mounts which will ultimately hold 45 individual solar panels have already been installed. When complete, the billboard will draw power from both those solar panels and 4 wind turbines, as well as account for a reduction of 18 tons of carbon dioxide per year. According to Ricoh, if the photovoltaics do not receive sufficient sunlight or winds are not strong enough to drive the turbines, the sign will simply not illuminate. Note that the Reuters Building continues to pursue a LEED-EB rating from USGBC. It's unclear exactly when the sign will be fully operational.
One of the many reasons why I’ve been waiting for the warm weather this year is to spend some time in Times Square on the steps of the new Perkins Eastman-designed TKTS booth in Father Duffy Square; as you probably know, TKTS provides discount tickets to both Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. I’ve walked past the booth a few times and think the firm did a tremendous job both in terms of the project’s straightforward architecture, as well as applying the Theater Development Fund’s design competition requirement that it include public space. What’s particularly noteworthy about the booth is that it includes some understated green design features which, though visible from the outside of the structure, are nevertheless integrated seamlessly into the booth itself.
Times Square is about to receive New York City's first green-powered electronic billboard. Tokyo-based Ricoh Company, Ltd. will install a 47 by 126 foot sign on the Reuters Building (3 Times Square, at the northwestern corner of 42nd Street and 7th Avenue) that will draw power from 45 solar panels and 4 wind turbines. In what should be an interesting twist, if the photovoltaics do not receive sufficient sunlight or winds are not strong enough to drive the turbines, the sign will simply not illuminate. According to Ricoh, the installation should account for a reduction of 18 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
