To bring light into the heart of an existing 10 floor medical office building in Chinatown a vertical shaft is cut. The resulting aperture is articulated with patterned glass, gardens, and additional patterned light provided by a roof-mounted heliostat – a fixed solar reflector, dubbed the ‘silver dragon’ by the client – which increases available sunlight in the atrium by 20 percent.

The atrium is accessible at the base, where a small open-air garden is provided. Throughout the height of the atrium the faceted glass panels are patterned with iridescent film, which together with the brilliant seasonal greens, reds, and yellows of the sumac and reflected light effects create a calmly diffuse, kaleidoscopic atmosphere – qualities that contribute to the public spaces, corridors and offices adjoining the atrium on every floor of the historic building.