Recognition of Lighting Excellence

Wow! I was recently honored to receive this award. Here is the explanation of the lighting design that I submitted to the award committee and some night-time photos of the space I wrote about here.

This project is a story of balance, weighing the needs of multi-generational members ranging from infant to senior. Members of the family are occasionally housebound due to dynamic disabilities, and this space functions as a place of respite, an accessible opportunity to reconnect with the natural environment, as well as a place of therapy.

A linear LED strip illuminates the location of a drop-off that would be clear to small children and sight-impaired family members. 

Renovating a mid-century building with sustainable principles to minimize energy use and reduce maintenance required the ability to be flexible with future lighting. The design is intended to evoke the tropical island heritage of the homeowner, and the dappled light effect of filtered light. To this end, all lamps in exposed fixtures have been selected for their dark glass and shielded features, eliminating glare.

Most fixtures in this location have the opportunity to change lamps if the homeowner requires. Each group of fixtures has a separate control. These controls support the disability of the homeowner, allowing independent use of the lighting features.

Serving as a place to gather, as well as a space for respite, the lighting scheme had to fulfil several functions. A balance needed to be struck between illumination for safety and low lighting levels required during periods of sensitive disability such as migraines. Biophilic design pervades the entire building, and indirect lighting was intentionally designed to bounce off a wood ceiling. All lamps were specified as between 3000k or 3500k, in order to enhance the natural materials selected.

The indoor-outdoor nature of this liminal space and large window openings allows the interior lighting to contribute to the outdoor space and vice versa.

This building is located in an urban environment with ambient light from other properties, however the homeowner wanted to be conscious of not contributing to the light pollution in the area. The homeowner is sensitive to glare and has utilized dimming features on all lighting that is high output. All lighting used is LED, maximizing energy performance. All fixtures are shielded by the architectural elements to preserve dark sky status.