Local Miami Lighting Designer Jim Morrison, mastermind behind A Celebration of Light display on Miami Beach, takes over the iconic Marquis in downtown Miami with the revitalization of its unique Signature Lighting. Originally installed by Arquitectonica in 2008, the solid white lighting installation has been inoperable since 2013 until Mr. Morrison and the ownership of 1100 Biscayne Boulevard resurrected it in December 2018. The unique signature lighting now consists of over 2000 linear feet of color changing LED strip lighting with arranged dual lines following the exact shape and form as the original design.
“Being a New England native and having lived my entire adult life in South Florida, I feel that my work is reflective of very diverse influences,” Mr. Morrison explains. “My work involves combining light and natural open settings. The Marquis’ iconic installation had not been operational for many years, and I was honored to be chosen to bring this high profile installation back to Miami’s night time skyline. The design stretches down 20 stories from the roof line on both the east and north elevations. Also, the installation has the ability to change colors and animate allowing for design and theme changes.”
Drive east on the Julia Tuttle Causeway toward Miami Beach and you can’t miss the iconic colorful rings wrapped around the palm trees in the median. Mr. Morrison created and installed this art installation, A Celebration of Light, at the Miami Beach gateway entrance 20+ years ago. Recently replaced by color changing LED lights, it was meant as a temporary installation, but became an instant landmark and now is an iconic entry feature to the City of Miami Beach.
Mr. Morrison was so moved the first time he saw the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) from his childhood home in Maine that he was driven to try and recreate the beauty he saw in those lights. He has been working at transforming light into an art form ever since. From his early work in commercial neon, to his current projects working with LED, Mr. Morrison found a way to link technology with art and design. In addition to A Celebration of Light, his other notable projects include Enlightenment at Miami Dade College’s Medical Campus and Onyx, a crown lighting project in midtown Miami. These installations have reached landmark status.
Whether accentuating architectural designs or as gateway installations, Mr. Morrison thrives as an artist and designer when he can connect his work to the environment – making a dynamic connection between a community, its architecture and landscape. Built in 2008, the Marquis was the tallest skyscraper in downtown Miami at that time with a tower 679 feet high that housed 63 floors. A signature lighting component was installed on the east and north sides of the building that brought an additional uniqueness to the Marquis. In 2013 the signature lighting was turned off due to technical malfunctions and lay dormant until this December 2018. Knowing about Mr. Morrison’s iconic light projects, condo President Allan Schwartz and the ownership of the newly created “Best in Class” hotel, which occupies 1100 Biscayne Boulevard’s base 14 floors, sought out the famed lighting artist to bring the building “back to light”. Mr. Schwartz was determined to bring added value to the residents by doing major renovations to the Marquis and a big part of that was re-activating this unique lighting. “I view my role as President of the Marquis Condominium Board to drive value into the unit owners’ real estate, which is easily translated to higher per square foot sale prices. The way I saw to achieve that goal was one, get the building on a strong financial footing, and two, make sure that every system in the building was up, operating, restored, well maintained and under a maintenance contract with a competent maintenance provider. It was also my thought that the value of every unit is somehow directly linked to what anybody sees with their eyes when they come to the property.” With that mission in mind, Mr. Schwartz for his Board alongside the hotel owners supervised the complete renovation of the ground floor, the outside landscaping, and the traffic circle entrance, which includes the Marquis signage and lighted water wall. Hiring Jim Morrison to restore the signature lighting on the north and east side of the building was one of the most important parts of the Marquis’ revitalization. The Marquis is located near the soon to be built iconic Signature Bridge that will be over Biscayne Boulevard and allow for the connection of Overtown, downtown Miami, Omni and Edgewater. The Marquis’ unique signature lighting will add to the brilliance of Miami’s growing skyline.
Way to go, there, Jim. I’m glad to see your newest project realized and are keeping your dreams vigorously alive !!!
You’re a true visionary.
Very proud of you Jamie (Jim). You just get better and better at everything you do. Hopefully I will be able to get to Florida some day to see all your work. Love you and keep lighting up Florida with your beautiful work.
Bravo Jim! Kudos!