Lighting th as LA
The sweeping station canopy features a continuous ribbon of light that emphasizes the architecture and creates a welcoming presence. Photo Credit: © Jason O’Rear
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When the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) set out to link its growing rail network directly to the airport, the project required a design that could do more than guide commuters. It needed to rise to the moment—especially with major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games bringing unprecedented global attention to the city.
For Joyce Hahn, Senior Lighting Designer at Arup, light became one of the defining mediums for that welcome. “The architecture already had a grand and sweeping energy,” she said. “We wanted the lighting to amplify that while simultaneously being clean, timeless, and unmistakably LA.”
The LAX/Metro Transit Center Station project, a collaboration between Metro, Grimshaw, Gruen Associates, and Arup, is not just a transportation hub. It’s a civic statement: Los Angeles welcoming the world.
At the heart of the design is a floating canopy that curves along the station’s full length. The architecture naturally invited a continuous lighting gesture. The design team conceptualized what they called the ‘tech bar’—a structural
designing lighting
A Continuous Ribbon of Light