Shining a Light on The Grand LA

By Randy Reid

KGM was chosen for the lighting design of The Grand LA by Gehry Partners due to their long alliance with Related California and Gehry Partners, particularly in California.

The project had been in the works for 10+ years and began construction in 2019. Gehry Partners was the design architect and executive architect for the entire project.

Dan Weinreber, IALD, LC and Partner at KGM, sat down with designing lighting (dl) to overview the project.

The Grand LA consists of retail on the first five levels, which includes shopping, food and beverage, and the hotel above. KGM was responsible for lighting in the residential areas and all public and outward facing exterior design, including the valet area.

The hotel interiors were handled by Isometrix in London, with Tara Bernerd as the lead hotel interior designer. The two firms coordinated closely on the exterior areas, such as the pool deck and outdoor dining spaces.

Valet Area

The valet is the only entry for both retail and hotel and has varying ceiling heights of 10 to 50 feet. Due to this variation, Dan required a downlight that could accommodate different outputs, beam spreads, and other features while keeping a consistent aperture.

The size and openness of the valet area presented a unique challenge when selecting the lighting.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

KGM used a 4-inch DMF downlight. “As you can see in our approach,” commented Dan, “We organized the lights intentionally and placed them behind columns to prevent aiming towards drivers' eyes. This lighting technique is similar to how racetracks are illuminated, where poles light up the track surface without affecting the drivers' visibility.” In some areas, they grouped luminaires together in twos, threes, or fours to serve different purposes.

There are beams of light across the ground, often called marker lights. These serve as a signifier for the drop-off zone where vehicles arrive and valet staff assist passengers. They are semi in-grade fixtures that emit a beam across the ground. These are similar to runway lights found on aircraft runways/taxiways and are used instead of signage.

Smaller DMF downlights arranged in constellation patterns are used in areas where visitors/guests gather to access vertical transportation points, such as elevators. These are in three locations and serve as a signifier for the elevators.

With a pinhole of approximately 3 inches, these downlights create a pattern that directionally leads into the interior. These also serve as a guide, reducing sign clutter.

Pedestrian Bridge

Pairs of downlights underneath the pedestrian bridge illuminate Grand Avenue below.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

Located one level above Grand Avenue, the bridge is open to the sky and connects the two outdoor retail areas. It leads to the Disney concert hall and other areas.

The space is a hybrid of indoor and outdoor, with an open roof and full glass walls creating an indoor space impression despite its connection to the sky.

KGM intended to create a continuous experience, blurring the lines between indoors and out, and the effect is heightened by the residential lobby with its 24-foot windows and a generous spill of light, which generates a unified atmosphere. For consistency, a color temperature of 3000 Kelvin was used throughout the project.

The monumental stair, which is open to the public and connects the residential courtyard to the Grand Avenue level, features lighting that is located underneath the metal cladding and illuminates the stair treads from about 9 inches above them. It is a continuous curving light that follows the complex, curving shape of the stair.

The lights illuminating the monumental stair are concealed beneath the metal cladding.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

Residential Lobby

In the residential lobby, ceilings are close to 25 feet. Fixed drapery sheers are washed by linear multi-cell Lumenwerx wall wash luminaires. The lobby downlights are DMF, while the decorative fixtures are custom-designed by Frank Gehry, who often works with an artist fabricator to create unique pieces. Similar decorative fixtures can be found in other rooms.

The residential lobby features custom-designed fixtures from Frank Gehry.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

The lobby features wood panels with DMF downlights and smaller Lumenwerx multicell wall wash fixtures. Lumenwerx was selected to provide a different aperture scale and size, with a smaller housing footprint and remote driver. Because the panels are basically two large blocks of wood overlapping at an angle, the goal was a continuance of light for the ever-decreasing angle toward the corner: they needed the smallest luminaires possible.

Downlights from DMF and wall washers from Lumenwerx light the decorative wood paneling in the lobby.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

Lighting the Deck

Installation of the rail lights posed a significant challenge as an aircraft cable had to pass through the light fixture. The fixtures, which are located 42 inches above the deck, demanded a bespoke design by Cole Lighting to ensure optimal functionality and aesthetic appeal. Inserting the high tension cable through the fixture required a coordinated effort between Cole Lighting and multiple trades for a custom solution. Fixtures are watertight via a sleeve insulating the cable.

Rail lights from Cole Lighting illuminate the residential pool deck.

Photo credit: Weldon Brewster

The residential pool area is illuminated exclusively by these rail lights from Cole, which are positioned around the perimeter of the deck. The light source is underneath the top rail, with no visible poles, allowing the low perimeter lighting to complement the minimalist architecture. This design ensures that the lighting does not undermine the architecture or create glare, resulting in a wonderful mood at night.

The control system used throughout the entire hotel, including the public spaces, retail area and exterior spaces, is ETC. Most fixtures are 0 to 10 volt, with a handful of phase dimming fixtures. The control system has the capability of working on a time clock, which was the original intent. This required unpacking and revisiting previous decisions, which added to the challenges already presented by Covid.

Another surprise was the need for a planter with living plants, which went through several designs, including a sculpture garden and green wall before settling on a planter. The challenge was to provide enough light for the plants to survive, as the area received no direct sunlight.

Over 100 footcandles of light were required, but the goal was to avoid blasting the entire space with glare. Providing ample light for growing plants solely with artificial sources was a completely different design challenge. To avoid detracting from the architecture, conventional fixtures could not be used. The result was a design that delivered light for the plants without compromising aesthetics of the space.

Los Angeles is considered a “package town,” and PLP SoCal was the manufacturer’s rep. According to Dan, they did not experience any significant lighting supply chain issues.

The completion of The Grand LA marks another successful project for KGM Lighting. The team's ability to overcome unexpected challenges and their commitment to creating intentional and cohesive design continues to make them a trusted partner for architectural firms and developers. ■

Design Architect: Gehry Partners

Executive Architect: Gehry Partners

Interior Designer: Rockwell

Lighting Designer: KGM

Fixture Schedule: B-K Lighting, Intense Lighting, Q-Tran, Bega Lighting, Focus Industries, Tokistar Lighting, Hunza, A-Light, Prudential, Cole Lighting, DMF, Valmont, Targetti, Gotham Lighting, Selux.