Sensing Change

151 North Franklin, Chicago

On a second-floor terrace in downtown Chicago, a light sculpture changes with the weather. Sensing Change is an illuminated trellis standing against an imposing concrete wall, an open, organic counterpoint to a hard-edged public space. It can be seen from the street below and from the building’s upper floors.

The piece listens to two things: the weather over the city and the waves on Lake Michigan. That live data decides which media plays across the trellis and how strongly it moves. A calm day and a rough one look different, because the lake and the sky set the tempo. The sculpture never looks the same twice, and it draws a connection between the city around it and the natural world beyond.

upLIGHT’s contribution

upLIGHT was ESI Design’s lighting partner from the first stage of ideation. We developed the lighting and technical infrastructure that made the concept buildable, then gave support and design direction to the project’s engineers, architects, and contractors through the contract documents phase, allowing the whole team to move into construction with confidence. We stayed with the project through construction and programming, and the piece is still running on live data today.