The Office of Academic Affairs awarded Francine Mariano ’24 (MPSL) the Chairman’s Award for her overall performance at NYSID. At NYSID, capstone projects are long journeys that challenge students to brainstorm, conduct research, and synthesize all they have learned. The journey ends with a presentation to a jury of faculty and industry professionals. Our students work closely with faculty to create hypothetical designs that offer solutions to real-world problems.

Student: Francine Mariano
Project: The White Lotus
Program: Master of Professional Studies in Lighting Design
Instructors: Nathalie Faubert and Jason Livingston

According to Francine Mariano, the assignment for her first project in the one-year lighting program was very “practically focused.” So, when it came time to ideate her final project, her instructors encouraged the students to design something conceptual and dramatic. At the time, she had just finished watching season two of the show “The White Lotus.” She says, “The show is about a world that’s bright and welcoming on the surface, but the storyline takes the viewer to a very dark place. I wanted to use the show as an inspiration to create an architectural lighting design that’s dark from within.” She also sought an opportunity to light classical architecture with elements like Corinthian columns and frescoes.

The footprint of the hotel she lit was an actual hospitality project executed by one of her instructors, but she drew details of her project from the hotels in season one (Hawaii) and season two (Sicily) of “The White Lotus.” The images in the opening credits of the show foreshadow what happens in the plot, and Mariano wanted to execute something analogous in her lighting design. So, she dramatically up lit the deep archway of the ground floor entrance against a contrast of darkness, creating an effect that’s both beautiful and ominous. The welcoming spaces of the hotel, such as the ground floor reception and lounge, are bright and cheerful, with uplighting meant to draw the eye up to architectural flourishes. But as the user travels deeper into the hotel, the spaces become darker and moodier. The walls of the lift lobby are painted with frescoes, but Mariano has chosen to light only the arched ceiling, giving the effect of traveling into darkness and intrigue.

Mariano, who lives in the Philippines, is currently applying her talents on behalf of the Singapore-based lighting design firm Light Collab.

— Jennifer Dorr