2009 Times Square Valentine Heart

In 2009, the Alliance commissioned Gage/Clemenceau Architects to create a new work of art for Times Square that celebrates the uniqueness of its home.  Gage/Clemenceau Architects's Valentine to Times Square in 2009 marked the inaugural Valentine installation at the foot of the sleek red glass steps on the then newly-redesigned Father Duffy Square (between 46th and 47th Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue).    

The sculpture employs cutting-edge design and fabrication technology. While the design of the heart is the work of Gage/ Clemenceau Architects, the production involved one hot-rod car design company, several robotic metal-cutting robots,  an Ivy League University, a concert lighting expert, a graphic designer, a copywriter, a sculptor, and over 350 square feet of a material typically used for kitchen countertops.    

“Times Square has always been a place where tradition and technology meet,” said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins. “Gage / Clemenceau Architects unite this contradiction with a creative use of cutting edge technology reflective of today’s Times Square. “

“With all that’s going on in the world, we were overjoyed by the prospect of creating something where we can spread a little love,” said designer Mark Foster Gage. “Valentine to Times Square speaks to our love of Times Square and New York City – frenetic, ever-changing, colorful and always fascinating.”

To be part of the lights of Times Square, the designers utilized a reflective surface and changing LED lighting.  Computer driven lasers cut the metal sheathing into a delicate latticework pattern.  Inside, shelves of horizontal luminescent acrylic pulse in reds, pinks and purples.

“By using the latest in new materials and tools from a variety of companies such as DuPont's translucent Corian™, 3D software from Autodesk including AutoCAD and Maya, and new robotic fabrication technologies used by companies such as Evans & Paul and Milgo Bufkin, the heart itself is a carefully calibrated mix of material and lighting effects,” said designer Marc Clemenceau Bailly.