Aranda\Lasch+Marcelo Coelho's 12-foot-diameter “Window to the Heart” wins 2018 Times Square Valentine competition

In February, New York City's Times Square will have a sparkling new Valentine's Day-inspired installation called “Window to the Heart” by Aranda\Lasch + Marcelo Coelho in collaboration with 3D-printing manufacturer Formlabs. The team won the commission from Times Square Arts' annual Valentine Heart Design Competition, now in its 10th year. Previous winners include The Office for Creative Research, Collective-LOK, Stereotank, Young Projects, and Situ Studio.

Filled with cameras of various shapes and sizes, Window to the Heart places a 12-foot diameter Fresnel lens — deemed to be the world's largest lens — in the middle of bustling Times Square. The lens, which was designed with Formlabs, will distort and capture Times Square and optically bend light toward the heart-shaped window at the center. Visitors to the installation can peer through the window or take photos of themselves within it.

Read on for more about the installation.

Going beyond the traditional lens-making methods of casting, cutting, and repeatedly polishing glass, each lens segment of Window to the Heart is 3D-printed at a high-resolution by Formlabs using clear resin — which is a reliable material that can provide the unique surface quality and clarity required by optical elements. “With the lens made entirely from a 3D-printed material instead of glass, Window to the Heart upends the centuries-old methods of lens-making to invite individuals to reimagine how they see and photograph the world.”

The installation will be completed in time for its February 1 opening, taking place at 11 a.m. at Father Duffy Square, between 46th and 47th Streets. The installation will be on display through February.

The other finalists invited to this year's competition included: Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects, office iii, Studio Cadena, StudioKCA, studioSUMO, and Taller KEN.