SITE:1023
The Beacon of Hope
SITE:1023 was a 40-foot triangular LED tower designed for Heritage Square in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Three continuous LED faces, each 25 feet tall, displaying curated digital art from local and international artists. A beacon visible from blocks away, changing the character of the square day and night.
The base was an inverted pyramid with openings that cast prismatic, rainbow-colored light onto the surrounding ground. At night, the ground around the tower would glow with shifting color. It wasn't just a screen on a pole. It was a sculpture that happened to be made of light.
More Than a Screen
Josh and his team designed the full system: the LED tower, a network of "Tuning Nodes" (smaller LED columns retrofitted onto existing downtown bollards), a companion website with QR codes so visitors could learn about the current artist, follow them on social media, and tip them directly through Patreon.
The art curation program rotated monthly. Local artists alongside international digital creators. Special event takeovers for city festivals. The entire operation was designed to be hands-free for the city. Josh's team would handle the hardware, the content, and the artist relationships.
A Platform for Artists
The concept went beyond public art. SITE:1023 was designed as an artist platform. Every featured creator got a profile page, social links, and a direct Patreon connection so the public could support them financially. Past artworks lived in an online archive. Upcoming events were promoted through the companion site.
Josh wrote an entire immersive sci-fi narrative around the project. Orlando as Earth's secret communication hub with alien civilizations. Art as the universal language. Messages of peace, love, and unity decoded through color and light. The storytelling wrapped the installation in something bigger than hardware specs.
The Companion App
Josh designed a mobile companion experience that connected the physical installation to the digital world. Visitors would scan a QR code at the park to access LANDING SITE/1023, a mobile site showing the current artwork on the Beacon, the artist's name, their statement, and direct links to their social profiles and Patreon.
The app turned every park visitor into a potential patron. See the art. Learn the story. Follow the artist. Support their work. All from the same screen, all in real time. Past artworks and upcoming events lived in an archive so the experience extended beyond the moment.
Approved. Then Cancelled.
The City of Orlando officially approved SITE:1023 in 2024. Josh and his team had worked with city officials, coordinated with multiple departments, and developed the full technical and creative package. The project was real. It was happening.
A few months later, the city cancelled it over budget concerns.
But the concept stands as proof of what Josh and his team are capable of designing at the civic scale. Public art that functions as community infrastructure. Technology that serves artists. A vision that got all the way to "yes" before the budget said "not yet."
"Art is the only universal language. If we're going to communicate with anything out there, it won't be through math. It'll be through color and light."Josh Almeida
Art² Art Park
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