Heart Squared

The New Project team always gives it their all on our clients’ projects but our collaboration with MODU and Eric Forman Studio on their competition-winning design “Heart Squared” really allowed us to explore some innovative approaches to fabricating a unique conceptual design. From building the prototype through to the final adjustments made during the installation, we worked with the designers to make sure this experiential art installation gave NYC residents and visitors something special to remember.

Comprised of a grid-like structure inspired by the outline of an anatomical heart, the project incorporates 145 mirrors precisely angled to capitalize on the visual spectacle that is Times Square.  As viewers move around the work, hundreds of reflections are captured until they reach a pre-defined angle where a pixelated heart appears.

In addition to providing full fabrication and installation of the final full-scale work, New Project’s design and studio team developed custom mount mechanisms for the mirrors and a specialized protractor tool that enabled the mirrors to be adjusted to the precise angles required for the important reveal. The mounts and protractor tool are examples of the critical level of design engineering and exploration of fabrication methodologies that New Project delivers as part of the design assist and prototyping stages of a project.

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To learn more about the design and fabrication process, watch the "Making of Heart Squared."

The project was the winner of the 2020 Times Square Arts Valentine Heart Design competition and was curated by Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.