News  |  Month: February 2018

No Ordinary Angel

yottoy

Feb. 21, 2018, Guastavino’s New York. A tribute by Arthur Lubow to Helen Lowe, a client for more than four decades.

Wow, 250 people! 250 Disciples of Helen Lowe have come from far and wide.

Why are we here?  We’re here tonight because of an angel.

Helen is no ordinary angel. To tell the truth, she’s no angel.

Actually, she’s a person of this world who is intensely demanding.

Anyone who has ever worked with her knows: she’s never satisfied, and every one of her projects goes through a process of divine chaos where up until the last possible moment, all is lost. All is ruined. And then, as if by the grace of God, the sun shines and everything miraculously comes together. No one knows how. It’s a mystery.

How does she do it?

As best I can describe, there is a divine, chaotic universe of light within Helen’s brain full of supernovas, shooting stars and beautiful planets. If you’ve ever tried to understand one of her rambling sentences, you’ve been on that celestial journey.  I would love to know what it’s like to be a synapse in Helen’s brain. It must be like living perpetually in an amusement park, trying to sleep on a roller coaster.

This is a restless, impatient angel.

Continue reading “No Ordinary Angel”

Envisioning a New Visitor’s Center

Our design for the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy’s new Welcome Center & Gift Shop, which started as an animated rendering, transformed an unused space into a place that welcomes guests with:

• An illustrated timeline of key moments in Sands Point Preserve history

• A full-walled Trails and Buildings Map with an inset interactive touch screen display

• A mural photograph depicting children entering Sands Point Preserve, as if it were a secret garden

• A small shop with gifts and refreshments

With a new branding identity, new website and new visitor center, AD Lubow is teaming with Sands Point Preserve Managing Director, Beth Horn, to renew and preserve a crucially important slice of history. Movies and TV shows are being shot at the Preserve’s giant sound stage, weddings are being celebrated in Gatsby-like splendor, and concerts are being presented in the kind of venue for which they were meant. Seasonal celebrations; education programs for children, families and adults; fitness and wellness programs; and guided nature walks are being enjoyed throughout the splendid grounds. Many more plans to come. Be on the lookout for a demonstration vegetable gardens, farm-to-table chef nights and much more. Welcome to Sands Point Preserve.