designing lighting FEB 2021 by designing lighting

Bubbling

The Ultimate Compliment to Even More Settings

A graceful, minimalist design and advanced LED performance remain the common language among the Torres lighting family. The Torres area light has been expanded to include many new options, including LED configurations, outputs, drive currents, distributions, and clear or diffused lens, offer lighting designers choices to create tailored solutions for multiple applications.

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STEFANIE SCHWALB

JACOB WRIGHT

Editorial Director’s Notepad

Feature Story

All about Software: AGi32, Visual, LightStanza, DIALux and Light ARchitect

Randy Reid

Comparing lighting design software’s capabilities, platforms and technology.

Just In

Benya’s Art & Science

Revealing Trends - The 2020 Art and Science Awards

By James Benya

The inaugural winning luminaires from the National Lighting Bureau’s (NLB) Art & Science Awards.

The Business of Lighting Design™

How Schuler Shook Adapted to the Pandemic

By Randy Reid

Bubbling Over with Possibility

By Stef Schwalb

Showcasing the Bottleworks Hotel, a re-purposed landmark Coca- Cola building in downtown Indianapolis.

The LIT Design Awards

By Malia Hullfish

The recipients of the 2020 LIT Design Awards ™ choosen for their creativity and innovation.

Comparing the Effects of 9/11 and the Pandemic on the IES

By Randy Reid

A tale of two IES presidencies.

Revitalizing with the Flint Collective NYC

By Malia Hullfish

Transforming underutilized spaces with light and design.

Lighting London’s Quadrant Arcade

By Malia Hullfish

Illuminating a historic arcade on London’s famous Regent Street.

The Last Inch: Why Does the Lighting Industry Still Struggle with Dimming Compatibility?

By Joe Bokelman

People on the Move

Residential Builder Boom

By Linda Longo

Good news in the midst of an economic downturn.

Challenges on Many Fronts

By Jacob Wright

A conversation on the multitude of obstacles the lighting industry faces today.

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Up Close with Randy Burkett

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Editorial Director: Randy Reid editor@designinglighting.com

Publisher: Cliff Smith csmith@designinglighting.com

Director of Audience Development: Angie Hullfish admin@designinglighting.com

Contributing Writers:

Director of Audience Development: Angie Hullfish admin@designinglighting.com

Contributing Writers:

James Benya PE, FIES, FIALD Principal at Design Services, Inc. and The Benya Burnett Consultancy

Paul Blackburn

James Benya PE, FIES, FIALD Principal at Design Services, Inc. and The Benya Burnett Consultancy

European Contributor Lighting Designer at Chroma Lighting

Linda Longo

Designing lighting continues to grow, and we are having more fun than ever. Interest from advertisers is increasing, and our February issue features the most diverse and meaningful content ever. Why? Because we are listening to our audience. Lighting designers are engaged, sending interesting topics and suggestions for articles.

When we started designing lighting six months ago, we debated the importance of content versus showcasing beautiful jobs and we think we are striking the perfect balance.

Several designers have asked for more information on lighting design software. In my article, All About Software, I examine a diverse array of software in the industry today.

Industry veteran Randy Burkett is featured in Up Close. Randy discusses how COVID has impacted his business and altered his lighting designs.

In our Business of Lighting Design™ column, Jim Baney and Emily Klingensmith discuss how Schuler Shook uses technology to integrate their practices in six cities.

Paul Blackburn European Contributor Lighting Designer at Chroma Lighting

Residential Lighting Contributor

Stefanie Schwalb

Linda Longo Residential Lighting Contributor

Hospitality Lighting Contributor Interim Managing Editor at Boston Magazine

Staff Writers:

Stefanie Schwalb Hospitality Lighting Contributor Interim Managing Editor at Boston Magazine

We compare the effects of today’s global pandemic to the tragic events of 9/11 and how both events impacted the IES. Pam Horner and Jennifer Jacques, both Presidents at the time of each tragedy, share their perspectives.

Jim Benya’s noteworthy article recaps NLB’s inaugural Art & Science Awards.

Staff Writers:

Malia Hullfish Jacob Wright

Published by EdisonReport

Malia Hullfish Jacob Wright

1726C General George Patton Dr. Brentwood, TN 37027

Phone: 615-371-0961 designinglighting.com

Published by EdisonReport 1726C General George Patton Dr. Brentwood, TN 37027

Phone: 615-371-0961 designinglighting.com

designing lighting is focused on the Business of Lighting Design™ and provides business information to the lighting design community. In addition to the website, designing lighting publishes bi-monthly online magazines featuring original content, interviews within the community and highlights successful and award-winning lighting designs. While designing lighting is based in the U.S., it has contributors from Europe and is developing a global presence. (ISSN 2693-9223)

Statements and opinions expressed in articles and editorials in dl are the expressions of contributors and do not necessarily represent the policies or opinions of the EdisonReport. Advertisements appearing in the publication are the sole responsibility of the advertiser.

8 designing lighting

Our staff writer, Jacob Wright takes a deep dive into the many obstacles the industry is facing today.

Malia Hullfish has a fascinating feature on the Flint Collective and how Leela Shanker is improving abandoned buildings through lighting design.

Lighting sales rep Joe Bokelman of Enterprise Lighting and Control tackles the industry’s struggle with dimming compatibility in The Last Inch

In February’s issue, content is king. Meaningful and insightful articles, inspired by our loyal and ever-expanding readership. Oh, and there is some pretty incredible photojournalism as well. The debate continues...

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All about Software: AGi32, Visual, LightStanza, DIALux and Light ARchitect

Mark Lien, IES Industry Relations Manager, recently hosted a panel discussion for four industry editors, including myself. The discussion enlightened my view on different types of media and each of their unique applications. While there are obvious redundancies, we have distinctive areas of expertise. In researching this article, it became clear that design software choices operate in a similar way. There is a place for AGi32, Visual and DIALux software, as well as newer software such as LightStanza, and Cooper Lighting. Solution’s Augmented Reality software,

titled Light ARchitect. However, unlike the lighting publications, which basically utilize identical advertising revenue models, the four leaders in the software industry have vastly different revenue models. More on that later.

But how does one decide which software to use? Sometimes the things that look really sexy don’t get the job done.

In 1984, David Speer and Todd Saemisch began Lighting Analysts Inc with software that today is called AGi32. The original version was MS-DOS based and

has evolved into the de facto industry standard in the U.S. The output can be as simple as a PDF, or something that merges with CAD. David discussed AGi’s success and breadth of utilization: “It can be used for literally any lighting project that you can think of: as simple as an office or restroom; as complicated as a pro sports facility that has to meet television requirements.”

David described the strategic origin of the software’s name: “AGi stands for Advanced Graphical Illumination, or it could stand for Advanced Graphical Interface. It doesn’t really matter, we

Compliments of Acuity Brands

RANDY REID

111 Iberville Facade | Photo credit: The O’Hanlon Group

111 Iberville Face Lighting Concept Elevation View #2 Render With FC Values | Photo credit: The O’Hanlon Group

just wanted it to start with the letter “A” in an effort to show up first.”

Acuity, back when it was known as Lithonia, created Visual. As new products were developed and as Acuity gobbled up companies, the demand for lighting layouts grew exponentially. As the demand increased for lighting calculations, Acuity gave the software to reps in order to lessen the burden on employees. The software was also useful in conducting calculations closer to the customer.

Randall King, Director of Visual Solutions for Acuity Brands Lighting, said that Visual, which is now known as Visual 2020, began in 1985. Randall explained that Visual’s big advantage is that most software focuses on lighting, but not controls. To solve that problem, Acuity created Visual Controls as an add-on to allow users to design lighting in Visual and then seamlessly export to Visual Controls. Recently, Acuity released a URG update and later this year they will launch a UVC update for both 222nm and 254 nm.

Meantime, in 1994 DIAL began offering software in Europe under the DIALux brand, which has grown to have the support of over 190 manufactures

today. On their website, DIALux lists big European names like ERCO, Schréder, iGuzzini and Philips (yes, Philips, not Signify). Strong US companies like Hubbell Lighting and Cooper Lighting Solutions are also listed as partners, but no Acuity Brands labels.

Jack O’Hanlon explained that in choosing a software, it is common that a person gets comfortable with one for everyday use. Jack said that AGi32 is the unofficial industry standard in the U.S. If a Lighting Designer ever wants the option to move to a new design firm, AGi32 proficiency will likely be a requirement. Jack has used AGi32 since 1995 and has considered DIALux, but thinks it has a steep learning curve. He mentioned Visual’s popularity among engineers because of its usability and their cheap access from Acuity Reps.

Andrea Hartranft confirmed what many have told us, “We dabbled in DIALux, but our go-to is AGi. I think they use a lot more DIALux in Europe.” However, many US companies do use DIALux to some extent. Chris Bailey of Hubbell Lighting says the company uses both AGi32 and a customized version of DIALux (Litepro DLX). AGi32 is their go-to for everyday calculations,

Arched Way White Raytrace | Photo credit: The O’Hanlon Group

whereas DIALux is used for more complex 3D interior environment renderings. Bailey highlighted his preferences for the software: “Both have pros and cons, I personally prefer AGi32 for outdoor calcs and Litepro DLX for interior calcs.” Hubbell also offers some Augmented Reality tools for visualization purposes.

Nelca Roco, a lighting designer in the Philippines is a big fan of DIALux. She said she fell in love with DIALux Evo the day it was released: “DIALux 4 is a little bit rigid for my artistic taste, AGi32 is somewhat complicated in terms of creating 3D objects and Relux seems to be similar to DIALux 4. So, when DIALux evo was released, I immediately said, ‘This is it, this is my software!”

A relatively new software, LightStanza, was developed by Daniel Glaser, a longtime member of the IES Daylighting Metrics committee. Glaser introduced his first version of daylighting software in 2015. Daniel explained how being cloudbased allows for high-power computing and better teamwork: “Running software

on a desktop makes it hard to share, but being on the cloud allows for easy collaboration as well as unlimited storage. Colleagues can run different calculations on the same model.”

LightStanza is known primarily as a daylighting tool, but recently they have added electric lighting. LightStanza uses open-source software from Radiance.

Cooper Lighting Solutions has an intriguing Augmented Reality program called Light ARchitect, that I saw demonstrated firsthand at LightFair 2019. The system is surprisingly simple. You can point your device towards the floor and move the device side to side in order to register your space and scan your surroundings. The program allows for seamless navigation through the assortment of fixtures, which can be shifted to different target locations. You can also move the fixture head in outdoor spaces. Click done, and the illuminous values are listed in foot candles. It’s that simple. Light ARchitect uses mobile augmented reality

technology to enable one to visualize lighting fixtures in any space.

Augmented Reality is an emerging tool that shows great potential. While it would be difficult to use to design an entire hospital using, it is still a fairly neat and sexy tool. There are already some plugins that incorporate AR into REVIT. Long term, AR will likely make its way to the forefront of lighting design.

Some codes or governments occasionally specify that lighting calculations must be made by certain software, so it’s always good to have various expertise in your design firm.

While the software all have certain similarities, their pricing could not be more different.

Visual is free for Acuity reps and others can get a multi-user license for $300 per year.

An AGi32 license cost is $852 per year, which is a dramatic difference in price

as compared to Visual. David Speer elaborated on the differences between these products: “We are not selling fixtures, we are selling software. One license can be installed on two computers, meaning that technically two people can share a license so long as they are not using it at the same time.”

DIALux has a totally different approach in that the software license is free for the lighting designer, as it is manufacturer supported. DIALux has 190+ partners or manufacturers that can make their product files available in DIALux. The cost to manufacturers is not public, but we are told it can be in the $50,000 ranger per year.

LightStanza is completely cloud-based

and has a unique model in that the software license is basically free, but the designer pays $750 for a “computing engine.” There is no limit to the number of licenses that a designer can have for that $750 annual fee, but there is a limit to the actual computing power. An office of 10 designers with only one computing engine could all work on the software at the same time, but the software would calculate each job individually. If one engine is calculating a job and a second job is sent, that second job is automatically placed in the queue until the first job completes. If the design firm finds that there are too many jobs waiting, they must buy a second computing engine.

Katie Czub, an associate with Fisher Marantz Stone, cautioned about the

$852 per license (2 machines) Cost Free to Reps; $300 Others

reliance on software and recommends that training is critical prior to tool use. She emphasized the importance of lighting calculation, “The value is not putting the software ahead of your design but bringing them along with you to confirm the design.” Charles Stone, also of FMS, echoed a similar sentiment, stating that “Calculation software should complement a good design but not drive the design. It should be used as a verification tool of what the designer has created.”

Sam Koerbel reminded me that “Lighting calculation software is a tool for experiment: to develop; to create; and to verify designs. Lighting Calculation software is NOT and does NOT make you a lighting designer.” 

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New architectural lighting products available for specification

The Naive Ceiling Tuneful from Archlit features a ceiling system in aluminum extrusion and acoustic panels for acoustic treatment of spaces, featuring different configurations and upholstery in different colors. The factory programmable drivers are remote up to 80 feet.

WaveFront Technology, an innovator in micro-optic structure origination, replication, and application, introduces a new portfolio of proprietary optical designs that generate a dynamic three-dimensional appearance on a FLAT Panel LED surface. The designs are delivered as films or rigid sheets that are incorporated as a layer in an edge or backlit LED panel.

Ciri Small LED Pendant

White Champagne Gold Accent from Kichler is a small LED Pendant with White finish and Champagne Gold accent offers a soft-modern take on a classic cage-pendant. This contemporary collection features delicate circles of LED lights that are hidden within the fixture, creating an invisible light source that fills the circles with light for an airy feel. This beautiful pendant pairs well with midcentury, urban, retro, and modern styles.

Xicato offers a line of LEDs with Corrected Cold Phosphor Technology®; the XCA, XTM and the XIM intelligent light module, which are now backed with the industry’s only 10-year warranty on lumen and color. The company has extensive

ETC has added a new option to its ArcSystem Pro family of LED solutions. Building on the success of the popular Pro One-Cell High Output luminaire, the High Output version of the Pro One-Cell yields 8700 field lumens and is available in 2700K and 3000K color options. Featuring the same high-quality optics as its recessed counterpart, the new Pro One-Cell High Output variant has an adjustable yoke. All ArcSystem Pro solutions are designed for ease of installation, high-quality light, and smooth dimming.

Aleddra LED Lighting launches its patented Air-sanitizing Desktop Light, which uses a highdensity photocatalytic material, ViraPure, on its air-permeable lampshade. This material can be activated by visible light to kill airborne bacteria and viruses. A third party test of this lamp against H1N1 influenza A virus in a 1000 cubic feet test chamber showed 99.5% kill rate. It doesn’t use any UV light source.

New architectural lighting products available for specification

Crestron has just launched Zūm Wired which leverages the Power of Ethernet. Zūm Wired extends the capabilities and performance of the Zūm lighting platform with unprecedented scalability, flexibility, and ease of operation. The distributed lighting control system uses industry standards, such as 0-10V, DALI®, DMX and Phase control, merged onto an enterprise IoT network called Zūm™ Net.

Aculux lini™ is a series of miniature linear luminaires comprised of 1-inch square apertures. These luminaires are available in 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 cell configurations, from 370-2230 lumens and feature four distributions, capable of delivering up to 13,252 MCBCP. They offer excellent color rendition, with 80+ and 90+ CRI available, and consistent color with < 2SDCM.

REVEALING TRENDS - The 2020

Ihappen to think that awards are a particularly good thing. There are now more lighting awards programs than ever before, for everything from lighting design project awards to awards for lighting products of every category. The project awards, especially IALD’s International Lighting Design Awards and the IES Illumination Awards, are of great interest to the entire lighting community because, in addition to crediting the designers, project awards provide an opportunity to recognize a number of products that played key roles. Being a lighting designer, designing and receiving these awards were among the most important aspects of my practice.

On the other hand, among manufacturers, lighting product awards programs are their Academy Awards. There are so many different categories and varieties, and I find it hard to choose between a downlight and a table lamp. Sort of like a dog show, where Best in Show could be any breed and choosing the schnauzer instead of the Great Dane might be hard to reconcile. Nonetheless, Mary Beth Gotti of the National Lighting Bureau, longtime manager of the GE Edison Awards program, created a new type of product awards program –the Art and Science Awards with the distinctive title from Manny Feris of Lutron. The judging committee compiled the 2020 candidate slate primarily by reviewing other product award programs and soliciting input from designers and other lighting industry professionals Competing new products would be judged for their innovation in the Art of Lighting, the Science of Lighting, or both. Most importantly, the judging criteria gave the jurors considerable latitude in how they ranked products.

In judging an awards program, nothing beats having a diverse juror panel. This panel included me and six other senior members of the industry from all corners of the industry. It was weird to be the only lighting designer on a lighting jury. I am drawn by my nature to the appearance and the presentation of the products, and much to my chagrin, several jurors did not agree with my assessments of style! Of course, I did not always agree with them on what inspired their selections either, so unlike being among lighting designers, this was different – and interesting – and a real challenge.

I think we sort of decided that there was to be no one “best of show” product. Like the dog show, choosing among breeds seems unfair and maybe even prejudicial. But in the end, we were able to come up with four categories that made sense:

• The Art of Lighting

• The Science of Lighting

• The Art and Science of Lighting

• The Non-lighting Award for Innovation

Photo credit:

NLB ART and SCIENCE AWARDS

JUROR PANEL

Paul Tarricone Editor and Publisher, LD+A

Paul Pompeo President, Pompeo Group

James R Benya, PE, FIES, FIALD Principal Illuminating Engineer and Lighting Designer, Benya Burnett Consultancy

Terry McGowan, FIES, LC Lighting Ideas, Inc.

Cary Mendelsohn CEO, Imperial Lighting Maintenance

Manny Feris

LEED® AP, Lutron Electronics OEM Team

Jean Paul Freyssinier Senior Research Scientist, Lighting Research Center

WINNERS

The Art of Lighting Kuzco Magellan

The Science of Lighting LensVector adjustable beam spread Lens

The Art and Science of Lighting Fluxwerx Profile Mini

The Non-lighting Award for Innovation GE Current, a Daintree company 365DisInFx UVC

Photo credit: kuzcolighting.com

JAMES R. BENYA By

The

Art

of

Lighting winning product is the Kuzco Magellan, a large, decorative pendant light with an extraordinary contemporary appearance. Judging decorative lighting is hard – twice in articles I have called decorative lighting “the jewelry of architecture”. This luminaire challenged me to think outside of my personal “box” and understand how other jurors saw it. The Magellan is not only a work of art; its light emitting efficiency and options make it capable of being the centerpiece of an extraordinary room.

The Science of Lighting was easier for me than other judges, I think. Lighting designers look for science to provide tools to solve difficult problems, and the LensVector adjustable beam spread lens with no moving parts is a dream come true. It uses a liquid crystal lens, the same technology as in the lens of a cellphone camera. Imagine not having to climb a ladder to change the beamspread of a display luminaire in a museum or store! Just dial in the new beamspread via Bluetooth or DMX. I had no problem convincing my fellow panelists of the breakthrough nature of this revolutionary product.

That was supposed to be it, but we were not satisfied. Too many great innovations were not recognized. So, we created two new categories and selected winners! In the category of Best Combination of Art and Science, we chose the Fluxwerx Profile Mini, a brilliant technical achievement in lighting and a great stylistic form for architectural ceilings. Sometimes the most elegant solutions look simple and like good architecture, easy. This is a breakthrough in its own right, combining sophisticated linear styling and detailing with an amazing optical system.

market are evolving so quickly and there were several competitors, and because it really was not about lighting. In the end, the quality of their science stood up and won for Current.

While the judging was at times chaotic and argumentative, the juror panel was unanimous in the end as we realized that we were voting in favor of coming trends in the industry. Each winner was more than just a pretty face or outstanding athlete – it was a profound directional change for how we look at and use lighting. I personally congratulate the winners and runners-up for their work and look forward to the party. And especially I want to congratulate and thank the National Lighting Bureau and Mary Beth Gotti for their creative and inspired effort to create a competition that awards thinking for the future of our industry.

Meet assistantyour

How Schuler Shook Adapted to the Pandemic

RANDY REID By

“We are not hearing people say they won’t hire a lighting designer, they may say we have less money to hire a lighting designer, but they still want the design.”

― Jim Baney

WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Architect: Stantec (formerly VOA)

Photographer: Tom Harris

Jim Baney and Emily Klingensmith, both Partners at Schuler Shook, granted me an interview to learn how their design practice has adapted during the pandemic. Jim has been with the firm since 1994, and Emily since 1996. The company has two service offerings: Theatre Planning and Lighting Design. Both have remained busy during the pandemic, thanks to a broad range of markets for their services. Schuler Shook began in Chicago and Minneapolis in 1986, and has since expanded to Dallas, San Francisco, New York, and Melbourne.

Before the pandemic, Schuler Shook’s staff was using Microsoft Teams and VoIP communication tools for several years. Most designers also had laptops and remote server access. Last March, when their staff shifted to working from home, the transition was fairly smooth since they already had the necessary tools, training, and internal IT support. Jim stated, “We are grateful that before the pandemic started, we had taken steps to get the software needed to be able to communicate remotely in a pretty clear and efficient way.”

Adapting to a work from home model meant finding new ways to make use of existing tools for communication. Office field trips are one example of a successful conversion for remote access.

One of the ways that Schuler Shook educates and develops its designers is touring recentlycompleted projects. When in-person visits were no longer safe, their team transitioned to virtual site visits using Microsoft Teams. Designers use photos and virtual walkthrough software, such as Matterport models, to tour a project with their whole team, including

those in other offices. Pre-pandemic, it was difficult to include designers from other offices since these were in-person tours. Jim said that they have adapted well to the virtual environment. He explained, “This is how we all learn. We learn from things we did well, and we learn from mistakes that were made.” They start their virtual project tours late in the day, which enables their Melbourne designers to participate, too, given the 15+ hour time difference. Emily explained the importance of these tours, “We have been very intentional about trying to continue these so the learning continues and everybody is together as a team.” Schuler Shook also conducts some punch list reviews virtually.

Emily and Jim explained that everyone has been working from home since March, except for the San Francisco team, which always worked remotely. I asked if they were still paying rent on their six offices, which they are. Emily said that leadership is talking about the future workspace, post-COVID, and no decisions have been made yet. She elaborated, “I can potentially see a hybrid model where some people may work from home, perhaps one or two days week, because we’ve seen that it can work.” On the flip side, she pointed out that it is more difficult to mentor newer designers

and build camaraderie virtually, so in-person time together is important, too. I asked about the traditional sales model with manufacturers and their reps conducting in-person training. Both Emily and Jim agreed that these product meetings are better in-person. Emily suggested their new model might have designers in the office on certain days of the week so they can attend manufacturer presentations and collaborate with one another in-person. She explained, “There are so many nuances to seeing how fixtures perform and a camera only gets you so far. You can’t necessarily see striations in a beam of light, and you can’t physically touch the fixture and see how well it’s made.”

There is one area of concern they have not been able to improve, and that is an initial design meeting. Jim explained that ten years ago, clients seemed to have a greater desire to get together at the beginning of a project to talk about lighting. He expanded by saying a meeting would be set with the architect and the owner to discuss the architect’s vision and how lighting could improve that vision. Today that does not happen as often. Jim said, “Over the years we have to fight more and more for that time, that straight design time, where we’re not talking about REVIT or the budget or deadlines. A lot of

HYATT GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS Architect: Gensler Photographer: Rafael Gamo

opportunities for the creative process can be missed.”

Jim explained their design tools have changed during COVID. Their designers used to sit around a table and hand sketch, or gather around a screen and model something onscreen together. That has moved online to sharing images and digital sketches on screens with each person in their own remote work area. COVID has changed not only how they interact, but also how they share ideas with one another. Jim emphasized that the design process still needs to be followed, or the project will suffer.

One important step in Schuler Shook’s lighting design process is studio meetings. At the beginning of a project, their designers gather to brainstorm various design ideas. The team assigned to the project shares information about its design, goals, location, constraints, and other pertinent factors that may influence the lighting. Everyone is encouraged to share ideas in these “green light” sessions, from Interns to founders. Jim explained, “Somebody will come up with an idea, and that idea perhaps isn’t the one used, but it could lead to another idea, and that sometimes leads to a third idea. We build on those and find the best, regardless of who originated it.” These sessions typically lead to the ideas that become the basis for the overall lighting

concept. Jim explained this approach gets the best ideas on the table at the beginning of the project. Similar to completed project tours, studio sessions are held virtually now, which means multiple offices can participate. The client benefits from their level of experience and diversity of thought. He clarified that not all projects begin with a team-wide design studio; factors such as project complexity, budget, and schedule need to be considered.

Emily stated that the ratio of outdoor vs. indoor projects has not shifted lately. Some market segments such as hospitality have slowed, while others like healthcare are more active. Jim explained that there was a move before COVID to integrate more outdoor space into projects. Many hospitality and office projects are including outdoor amenity spaces. They commented that COVID is probably pushing that trend further.

Jim said that COVID hasn’t stopped people from wanting a lighting designer on their project. The environment has led to downward fee pressures and more competition. He stated, “We are not hearing people say they won’t hire a lighting designer, they may say we have less money to hire a lighting designer, but they still want the design.”

Emily explained they have unfortunately seen some layoffs throughout the

industry within architecture firms, lighting design firms, MEP firms, and manufacturers. She stated, “We are grateful that we have been able to retain all of our staff, but we don’t yet know how strongly things will continue throughout 2021. In lighting design, we typically feel an economic downturn six or nine months after architects experience a slowdown.” She remains cautiously optimistic.

We discussed technology and the emphasis to push a lot of light out of small apertures, which can be an obstacle due to glare and visual discomfort. Emily likes the new, small form factors as they are easier to incorporate and integrate into architecture.

Recently Schuler Shook has designed a few offices with health or non-visual effects of light in mind, and designed an architect’s office where circadian-friendly lighting was a primary goal. They were also working on a similar project with PNNL for local government offices, but the project is temporarily on hold. Jim explained, “One group of city employees would work under the existing lighting, while another group would work under the Schuler Shook/PNNL lighting design. PNNL would conduct research on how the lighting affects occupants.”

This could be a fascinating study; let’s hope the project resumes. 

CHICAGO RIVERWALK Architect: Ross Barney Architects Photographer: Kate Joyce Studios

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Bubbling Over with Possibility

The Historic and Chic Bottleworks Hotel Opens in Downtown Indianapolis at the Site of a Former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant

STEF SCHWALB

A new year brings changes, and after 2020, we could all use a bit of that. As prospects are underway for getting a handle on the global pandemic, hospitality hubs are getting prepared to provide travelers with a warm welcome. Downtown Indianapolis is no exception. In fact, right before 2021 even began the Bottleworks District welcomed a new boutique hotel that serves as the perfect example by seamlessly weaving a glamorous aesthetic with historical architectural features.

The 139-key Bottleworks Hotel, which opened on December 15, offers guests plenty of luxurious comfort with offerings beyond their expectations. Housed on the top two floors of a 1930’s CocaCola bottling plant, the design pays homage to its roots and rich history while also providing everything the modern traveler needs and desires. Gorgeous artdeco details have been restored, revitalized, and combined with modern amenities including a fitness center, a courtyard, an upscale restaurant and lounge, and more. The chic white terracotta exterior and the brightly tiled interior provide an inviting entrance. Beloit, WI-based Hendricks Commercial Properties,

LLC collaborated with Delavan, WI-based Curate Design Group for the project. We connected with representatives from both firms—Susan Griffin, Vice President of Interior Design at Hendricks Commercial Properties, LLC, and Garrett Cheyne, Owner/Designer of Curate Design Group—to get more details about the design process.

“We wanted to follow the historic design prevalent in common gathering areas,” explains Griffin, “while also complementing today’s modern edge with the lighting we chose.” And keeping the overall mood somewhat dark, Cheyne adds, was the way to go. “We wanted a modern approach [as well] that felt sophisticated and stylish,

but not stuffy. We knew that it being the original Coca-Cola bottling plant, there needed to be a nod to its history without screaming CocaCola,” he notes. “That’s where you see our touches of red come into play.” All of the guestroom doors and pillows are done in a similar red tone, and the lobby walls are covered in the original handmade tiles. “Instead of coming in and demolishing history,” he says, “we embraced what was there, cleaned and polished it up, and really just brought a lot of it back to its original state.”

The lobby and guestrooms feature some gorgeous fixtures that are prominently featured, which really help set the mood of the surroundings. “Working closely with

All photos in this story courtesy of The Addison Group.

the Curate Design team, we researched many resources including the original historic photos from the Bottleworks’ bottling plant,” notes Griffin. As an example, the lobby ceiling fixtures were originally streetlight fixtures that used to surround the Eiffel Tower in Paris in the 1970’s, both she and Cheyne reveal. These fixtures were rewired to meet today’s standards. “They were converted into pendants for us by one of our favorite vendors out of New York,” adds Cheyne.

Meanwhile, the grand staircase fixture—Hexsation by Martyn Lawrence Bullard—is one of his favorite pieces in the entire hotel. “You will find it located in the walnut staircase on the firstfloor elevator landing,” Cheyne says. “This piece commands your attention when you pass it by.” The guestroom lighting comes from a few other great designers they love as well: the desk lamp is by Thomas O’Brien, while the floor lamp is from Ralph Lauren. The room number light fixtures, on the other hand, were customed designed for the hotel. “Our goal to blend the old with the new hopefully tells the story from the beginning to what has been reborn today,” adds Griffin.

Of course the choice of lighting is equally important to both firms— especially for creating the ideal environments to evoke what each space is trying to express. “When it comes to the importance of choice of lighting regarding design aesthetic, it’s top of the design list,” explains Griffin. “Lighting truly sets the mood and tone of specific areas and space use. For example, you may notice the subdued

lighting in the guestroom corridors, which helps create somewhat of a calming effect.” For Cheyne and his team lighting is also one of the most important design decisions to make. “If the lighting isn’t right, nothing else will look right. We scour the country and the world (for that matter) to make sure we are blending different pieces, different light outputs, and more to get to our desired look,” he reveals. “Sometimes that may even mean replacing a fixture here and there if we aren’t happy with the overall look. When we start a project, we spend weeks looking at lighting and coming up with different concepts.” Cheyne adds that the Custom Design Group draws inspiration from just about everywhere. “We may see a custom piece while out to dinner somewhere, or on a trip to market, in magazines, on the internet and social media,” he says.

“We are constantly looking at lighting, filing it away for the perfect project. If we can’t seem to find what we are looking for, we work with our design team out in Los Angeles to come up with a custom piece to take center stage.”

Although the vaccine is finally on the horizon, Covid-19 has still had an impact on design and hospitality trends—for now. “In light of Covid, we are all being careful of distance, touch points, cleanability, and more. We look for non-porous materials that are easy for housekeeping to keep clean, anti-microbial finishes, etc. Even something as simple as opening a powder room door—nobody wants to touch a handle anymore,” explains Cheyne. “We are utilizing a step-and-pull, metal-tooth bracket affixed to the base of a door in an upcoming project, so that the guest can use their foot to open it. Naturally, we like to use sensors anywhere we can on faucets, towel dispensers, soap dispensers, doors, and lighting (among other things). Elevators even have this option now. No touch is the entire idea here.”

The industry is constantly changing, he adds, and new healthier products and designs are coming out daily. “We are looking forward to the future of the design industry,” says Cheyne. For Griffin, her personal view is that everyone needs some distraction, something invigorating, yet the need to feel safe in an environment other than their personal home. “Designing a space that is comfortable yet easy to clean to today’s standards is critical,” she concludes. “Lighting and comfortable seating done properly can provide a ‘staycation’ feel in a unique kind of way—(in this case) a boutique hotel.” 

FLEX TUBE

LIT Design Awards The

Last month, the Farmani Group announced their recipients of the 2020 LIT Awards™. Headquartered in Los Angeles with 2 global offices in Budapest and Bangkok, the Farmani Group was founded in 1985 with the goal of discovering and promoting the world’s best photography, design, and architecture. In addition to LIT, they organize a number of awards throughout the year, including the International Design Awards (IDA), the DNA Paris Design Awards, and the International Photography Awards ™.

The Lit Awards™ were created in 2017 to honor lighting product designers and lighting implementers across the globe for their creativity and innovation. Believing that lighting is both an art and a science, the Farmani Group seeks to award those that show they can skillfully fuse the two. Every year, 5 awards are given out: Lifetime Achievement, Lighting Designer of the Year, Lighting Product Design of the Year, Emerging Lighting Designer of the Year, and Emerging Lighting Product Design of the Year.

Lifetime Achievement

Both Sally Storey and Wout Van Bommel received Lifetime Achievement awards this year. The Design Director of both Lighting Design International and John Cullen Lighting, Storey earned this awards for her lengthy and successful career in lighting design. Storey founded Lighting Design International in 1986, assembling a first-rate team of professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds, including engineering, theatre design, and architecture.

In line with LIT’s view of lighting as an

MALIA HULLFISH

Wout Van Bommel and Sally Storey

art and a science, Storey combines both design and technology to ensure that every aspect of her work is exemplary, from aesthetics to functionality and maintenance. Storey and her team take on a number of projects across different industries. 2 projects of note in 2020 include the Harrods Men’s Contemporary Department in London and the Four Seasons Avra Lounge in Athens.

Awarded for his success in lighting application research, Van Bommel currently serves as a lighting consultant. In his 50 years of lighting

research and application, he has held an array of titles serving for 20 years as the Dutch Representative of the European Normalization Committee CEN TC 169 and for 4 years as the President of the International Lighting Commission, CIE. He is also currently a Consulting Professor at the Fudan University of Shanghai.

Throughout his career, Van Bommel has authored several books and over 150 papers. He also owns several patents. At the forefront of Van Bommel’s research is finding a balance of using light to improve the natural processes

of living things without negatively impacting the environment.

Lighting Designer of the Year

CharterSills, an architectural lighting design firm based in Chicago, won the award for Lighting Designer of the Year for their work in the Union Station Great Hall Restoration. Erin Held led the lighting design. The $22-million restoration was prompted by the years of water damage and deterioration caused by the building’s aging skylight.

Union Station Great Hall

Restoration 

Photo courtesy of LIT Design Awards and Charter

With nearly 120,000 travelers passing through the Windy City’s Union Station every day, the goal was to make the space much more inviting without losing its historic integrity.

Wanting the revamped skylight to remain the station’s main focus, the CharterSills team sought to complement rather than distract from it. They accomplished this by installing new LED cove lights, restoring the station’s original chandeliers, balancing the hall’s light levels with column uplights and discreet downlights, and making all lighting dimmable and controllable. Today, the Chicago landmark offers a completely different and much brighter experience for Chicago residents and visitors.

Lighting Product Design of the Year

Dublin’s internationally recognized Niamh Barry received the Lighting Product Design of the Year award for her suspended light sculpture Artist’s Hand. Barry opened Niamh Barry Studio after graduating from the

National College of Art and Design. She started off producing commissioned commercial work for restaurants and hotels before branching out to create her own art.

Working entirely by hand, Barry converts rapid line drawings into 3-dimensional lighting products. Artist’s Hand is no different, one sculpture in a series based on “the concept of drawing with bronze in midair.” Changing shape depending on the viewer’s perspective, Artist’s Hand uses bronze, glass, and LED to marry art and lighting.

Emerging Lighting Designer and Emerging Lighting Product Design

The Emerging Lighting Designer and Emerging Lighting Product Design awards go to entries designed by university students. This year, Swathi Madhi, a student at Politecnic Di Milano in Italy, won the Emerging Lighting Designer award for her conceptual project for an office in Stockholm. When designing the building’s interior lighting, Madhi drew inspiration from

the curvature of the Northern lights. Madhi further pays tribute to these polar lights by only placing light sources above officegoers, imitating the feeling of natural light.

Neeraj R. Jawale of the National Institute of Design in Gandhingar, India, was named the winner of the Emerging Lighting Product Design. HUE, a mood light lamp designed by him and Samriti Gosain, was inspired by the sun. Not only does it draw its shape from the sun, but it also gives the appearance of daylight, as if the sun is shining on every surface in the room. Recognizing the strong connection between lighting and mood, Jawale designed HUE so that the user can control with time of the day it imitates, with its ring acting as a touch panel.

Because the LIT 2019 winners’ reception was postponed due to the pandemic, the 2019 and 2020 winners will celebrate together sometime this year. 

Artist’s Hand  Photo courtesy of LIT Design Awards and Niamh Barry Studio

Conceptual renderings by Swathi Madhi, winner of Emerging Lighting Designer Award.

COMPARING EFFECTS THE PANDEMIC

The world of work is ever evolving. Normally, these changes happen so gradually that we don’t realize how dramatically our businesses and organizations have transformed. It is not until we deliberately look back that we recognize the shifts in our organizational structure, technology, and communication. However, despite the gradual nature of the changing workplace, every once in a while, our society endures a dramatic event that forces us to adapt our work practices deliberately and efficiently.

Various Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) presidents have experienced this phenomenon firsthand. Pam Horner and Jennifer Jaques both headed the IES during two of the United States’ most devastating crises in the past two decades—the 9/11 attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively—but their capacity to respond to these events differed greatly due to the nature of the events, as well as the technology available to them at the time.

A major difference was the amount of time that the presidents had to respond to the events. Jaques recalled having a couple weeks to plan for a potential transition to remote work, “On March 10th, we had been talking almost daily

“Fortunately, the IES was able to emerge from 9/11 untouched financially. The majority of IES decision-making regarded staff safety and when to return to the city.”

Pam Horner

for the past couple of weeks [about COVID]. On March 11th, the staff did what we thought was going to be a temporary test run of working remotely, establishing everybody with equipment, communication systems, access, all that sort of stuff. Essentially, no one has come back to the office since then.”

That weekend Jaques met with legal counsel to discuss the progression of the pandemic and the directives coming from New York City leadership. Eventually, they decided that everyone was to stay remote, and for some IES staff who had always worked remotely, this transition meant little change for them. In the case of 9/11, Horner barely had time to wrap her own head around the events before addressing her concerns about IES staff.

“The first plane hit at 8:46 am, and the second plane hit just after 9. What happened was not a gradual dawning,” said Horner, “It was pretty quick, where you go through your head saying, ‘The twin towers, I’ve been there. I know where they are. They’re so close to IES headquarters. What’s happening?’ It didn’t take long; it was minutes.” IES staff were sent home and told to only return once they felt safe. For some, that was a few days; for others, it was a few weeks.

Despite the varying timelines of the two traumatic events, one thing underscored them both: uncertainty. “An important part of this was we didn’t know if there were going to be more attacks,” said Horner, “History shows two planes hitting two towers in New York and

COMPARING THE

OF 9/11 AND PANDEMIC ON THE IES

RANDY REID By

another attack in Washington, but nobody knew this at the time. Was this going to happen again in another city? We had no idea.”

Jaques, on the other hand, was up against quickly changing conditions of COVID and its impact on business. “Every event felt like a daily conversation of option A, B, and C, but then suddenly option A would be off the table because a day had passed and a new warning or data point had come out,” she said.

For Horner and Jaques, of utmost importance throughout the aftermath of both the 9/11 attacks and the pandemic was safety. From her office in Boston, Horner stayed updated on the events in New York through phone calls with Bill Hanley, the Society’s Executive Director at the time. Hanley relayed that the IES staff were all okay but that the streets outside were filled with smoke from the collapsed building. She recalled a conversation with him, “Bill said, ‘Before I hang up, I want to tell you I finally found a great use for those ugly, old, bright yellow IES t-shirts.’ He and Rita Harrold were in the kitchen soaking them in water and ringing them out so the staff could put them over their mouths and get through the smoke.”

Similarly, Jaques made staff safety her priority, especially when it came to the decision-making process for conferences. Not only did she consider the in-person aspect of the conferences, but the dangers of traveling as well. Finding a balance between staff safety and the benefits of education and social experience often came down to virtual events, a reminder of the large role that advanced technology and communication channels have played in the past year.

“With the really regular and much easier communication that we had, we were much more effective at making those really difficult decisions in a short time frame,” said Jaques, “I think we were lucky in that regard, because our communication was so much more stable and accessible.” Still, virtual communication required a learning

curve for IES staff, volunteers, and members, especially those who thrived off of face-to-face interaction.

For Horner, communication was a lot less predictable. She acted as the middleman for many members of the lighting community who did not know who to call to check up on their colleagues in the city. In fact, Horner recalls a vigilant feeling of constantly looking out for a call. Because so many lighting design firms and manufacturers operate out of the New York area, lighting professionals across the country were concerned about both the mental and physical health of many of those that they knew in the city.

The lack of efficient communication weighs on Horner today still. “We had no social media. LinkedIn began in 2002,

“Pandemic impacted the IES financially, as many events were made virtual.”

― Jennifer Jaques

Facebook in 2004, Twitter in 2006. Some of us had cellphones, but we certainly didn’t text each other,” said Horner, “We had mail. We had email and websites and landlines. I had a past president tell me to not let 9/11 define my presidency. That’s hard not to do, because this whole issue of communication has stayed with me all these years.”

Fortunately, the IES was able to emerge from 9/11 untouched financially. The majority of IES decision-making regarded staff safety and when to return to the city, but Horner did presume that had events been slated for New York City, it may have been a different story. Jaques, on the other hand, noted that the pandemic impacted the IES financially, as many events were made virtual.

“We were still financially obligated to pay some components of those events that didn’t occur, so negotiations with vendors and hotels did see that impact,” said Jaques, “Then there was the financial impact of pivoting to a wholly virtual event. We had a basic platform but not one that was robust enough to suddenly turn on a switch and go fully virtual, plus the training involved for our staff to support that correctly.”

In particular, the cancellation of LightFair—50% of the Society’s revenue—saw a large financial effect. Jaques had previously identified lessening reliance on LightFair revenue as a goal for the Society, but when the pandemic hit, it obviously became a much higher priority. In spite of this, for

Hurricane Sandy

both Horner and Jaques, the impact on the IES staff seemed to be one of the larger issues at hand.

“I think some who live the more typical New York life of small spaces had a bigger adjustment, because they didn’t have the flexibility to go outside as easily anymore. I also know the staff with children were suddenly home with them 24/7 for several weeks. Some of them were literally counting down the days of that,” said Jaques, “There was this big shift of trying to still be effective, but also keeping in mind all of the changes to your use of time or your mental strain or the exhaustion of being a young parent. All of that is compressed into a tiny apartment.”

9/11 also had ramifications for the IES staff’s mental health. Horner recalled one woman in particular whose train terminus was located at the Twin Towers. Her train came in just as the first plane hit, and she ran all the way from the platform to the IES office. Horner had been on the phone with Bill Hanley after the woman arrived at the office, and she was clearly distraught. “Later, she did decide to resign, not just from the IES but also New York City, which was a decision that a lot of people had to make because of this trauma,” said Horner.

Both former presidents had their leadership tested during their terms, but neither woman let these events stop them from pursuing their goals for the year. Horner had several that she saw

through, including initiating the planning for the Society’s centennial, prioritizing education, and re-examining the journal and its online presence. On the other hand, Jaques began the year with the primary goals of building the sense of community within the IES and working on global outreach.

“Oddly enough, in ways the pandemic has accelerated that. Increased communication and transparency were actually achieved. Maybe not in the positive sense I was hoping—I didn’t want a pandemic to be that driver— but it sort of was,” said Jaques, “When the term started, I knew the strategic plan was going to be a huge part of my efforts. Incorporating transparency and communication, as well as a sense of community, into the strategic plan became another way to execute upon those.” The society’s virtual SALC event illustrated this. “We had almost 100 EPs [emerging professionals] participate when we have never had a strong EP cadre at SALC.”

If anything, the IES’ response to the 9/11 attacks of 2001 showcases its resilience and flexibility, something that is being harnessed to handle the pandemic today. “I think it has showed a lot of gaps to improve upon and be aware of, just like 9/11 showed for Pam,” said Jaques, “Given the way the pandemic played out, I think we have to continue to be more aggressive in strengthening our resilience for our members and our volunteers, but also for our systems and our staff.”

Similar to the 9/11 attacks and the pandemic, Hurricane Sandy had a large impact on the IES. The tropical storm landed in New Jersey in 2012, closing bridges and causing buildings to catch fire. In New York City, the basement of the IES headquarters was flooded and, consequently, phone lines were destroyed. For two months, the staff was unable to work from the office.

Fortunately, former Executive Director Bill Hanley, former Director of Technology Rita Harrold, and Manager of Standards Development Pat McGillicuddy took care of everything. Chip Israel, the President of the IES at the time, said, “Those three people really kept the Society functioning during that time. Pat would solve one problem, only to see a new problem develop and then she would solve that problem as well.”

The impact of Hurricane Sandy even exists today. “One positive thing was that there was an increased interest at the time in the concept of resilience,” said Pam Horner. In fact, in the December following the storm, a special initiative for rebuilding and resiliency was set up by the New York City mayor. IES followed that lead creating the IES Resilience Committee which is still active today.

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“Light is an interaction; you don’t see it unless it travels and hits a surface and bounces back to the eye.”

― Leela Shanker

Revitalizing with The Flint Collective NYC

MALIA HULLFISH By

Ifyou were to have visited New York City’s East Village this past September, you would have certainly felt a revitalized energy remarkably different from the energy of the neighborhood in months prior. You may have passed residents peering into storefronts saturated with blue or magenta and eventually stopped to ask who was responsible for the vibrant light flowing out into the street. They would have told you ‘Flint Collective.’

Founded in 2016, The Flint Collective NYC was born out of the idea to bring back life to spaces that may have otherwise been forgotten. The members of the collective come from a variety

forgotten or abandoned. We wanted to come in and transform that space with light and design.”

More than anything, the collective seeks to break residents out of a monotonous routine and shift their perspective of New York to one with more of a sense of potential and change. “When we all walk the streets, we get into this routine mode of thinking you know the place well,” said Shanker, “When you come across something that’s out of the ordinary, there is a real joy you get from that. You take on the perspective that if that can change, maybe there’s other things that we can change.”

Shanker was not shy to express her appreciation for the number of countless manufacturers and funders who have helped bring the collective’s creative visions to life. Their latest project OPEN received funding from the Designers Lighting Forum of New York, and the landowners of its various sites allowed them to work in their spaces for free, something that is very rare in New York.

Featuring installations in 8 unique sites across East Village, OPEN set out to address the increasing number of vacant storefronts as local businesses struggled to survive amidst the pandemic.

of different backgrounds, including architecture and industrial design, with many of them having studied under the MFA Lighting Design program at Parsons School of Design.

“The interest that we all shared was wanting to really make a difference in the community, to undertake urban interventions where we work with underutilized space,” said Leela Shanker, Founder of the Flint Collective, “It might be vacant; it might be misused or

What started out as an informal association has grown to become a non-profit corporation with a number of volunteers, donors, ongoing participants, and directors. “We produce things not because we are on a payroll, but because we want to do something for the community and because we want to be involved in having this kind of expression in the city,” said Shanker, crediting the collective’s success in part to the members’ heartfelt intent, rather than a commercial one.

“There’s a lot of ideas that flow from really understanding where we are and being a part of the community,” said Shanker, “The problem of trying to keep the energy and life in the neighborhood—and also trying to create ambiance for local restaurants and cafes having to move out into the streets— was a set of new conditions that we were trying to energize.”

Because so many members of the collective are actually East Village locals,

this particular project held a special place in their hearts. “For me, it was important that we behave authentically, to contribute to the community that we were part of during a lockdown and to get to know local business owners and the people giving you your coffee or your groceries. It just felt right to actually do something for those that we are interacting with,” said Shanker.

Even more, East Village has long been home to the creatives of New York. Shanker noted that the supportive nature of the community acts as an ideal foundation to propose creative, or even unusual, projects. As the collective began to pursue OPEN, they found themselves with a growing network of similar-minded locals looking to bring life back into the streets. From local businesses to local

looking through and realizing there are these columns that create new frames in that space, or cutouts of volume above a backroom which can be filled with color behind.” Because the products used were donated by various lighting manufacturers and sales representatives, the creative concepts of OPEN were sometimes molded to the product that was available.

“What should be here next was really important to us. We wanted to do something that filled the space with color and light so that people could see beyond this time and get excited about what could come next,” said Shanker.

In addition to the diversity of the installation sites, working during a pandemic made for some challenges

real estate brokers and community organizations, the community was very receptive to the project.

The 8 different sites for the project were all unique and required different concepts and builds, but across all of them was a sense of aperture and openness. “There was this sense of breath in the space that continued out into the neighborhood,” said Shanker, “Whether that was because of a built frame with very saturated color in the fill of the space and then an alternate saturated color behind to give this sense of one color cutting through another; or whether it was framing out the architecture and

as well. From keeping up with everchanging outdoor dining laws to delayed shipment of materials to limiting the number of people in a space at a given time, Shanker and her 20-person production team had their work cut out for them.

Despite the added complications that came along with it, COVID seemed to make the work all the more rewarding for everyone involved. “We’d all been working from our homes and to have a reason—a really good reason and a fun one too—to come together was really powerful,” said Shanker, “I think a bigger and really wonderful thing to have learned is the capacity for people to

come together when they really believe in something and how generous people can be when they can see honest intent.”

OPEN also encouraged residents to get outside and connect with one another. Not only were the different sites spread across an easily-walkable plot of land, but the 8th site was considered a “secret site’—it was not on the map—which prompted residents to explore with even more intent. “[The secret site] was prompting people to actually walk the streets and look at the neighborhood with different eyes. They were looking for light conditions that were interesting and that tell a story and coming up with their own stories for these spaces,” said Shanker.

In creating a neighborhood walk, the collective gave residents and visitors to the neighborhood a reason to move out of their homes in a safe way, as well as move away from feelings of void and emptiness to feelings of potential and opening. Overall, the community felt very grateful.

“I have neighbors who have lived here since the 60s who were just so excited to get out there and explore again. The feedback we got from residents and businesses alike was ‘thank you,’” said Shanker, “I can look at people’s faces and see them walking with their dogs and their families and see that it is well-received, but then to hear from people that were really grateful that there was this creative work happening and for this positive energy flowing through the neighborhood was really exciting.”

Just a month into 2021, the Flint Collective already has a few projects planned for the East Village and other New York neighborhoods; they are even discussing potential projects beyond New York. Additionally, Shanker expressed an interest in working with public spaces beyond interior spaces, including rooftops, plazas, or parks. As the collective grows and takes on new projects, they will continue to search for new ways to transform the way residents view their city.

“Light is an interaction; you don’t see it unless it travels and hits a surface and bounces back to the eye,” said Shanker, “Obviously different surfaces or realities create very different interactions, and that is what the Flint Collective is about—creating different kinds of interactions and telling different stories through unutilized space in the city.”

Photocredit: Cathoa | Copyright: Flint Collective NYC Open 2020

Lighting

uadrant Arcade London’s

A hidden gem in one of the world’s most famous shopping destinations, Quadrant Arcade was long hidden by one of Regent Street’s main columns. After a stunning restoration and the removal of the column, Londoners and visitors alike are finally giving the arcade the recognition that it deserves. The only arcade on Regent Street, Quadrant Arcade is Grade II listed by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, meaning that it is “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve [it].”

MALIA HULLFISH

“The design brought theatrical lighting into urban context. With the employment of state-of-the-art lighting control system, the balance between traditional static architectural lighting and dynamic theatrical lighting has just enhanced the visual silence of Quadrant Arcade,”

Yu explained, “The integration of light artworks was carefully managed in conjunction with the artist to form subtle attractions rather than overwhelming.”

Cehao Yu

QUADRANT ARCADE REGENT STREET, LONDON

LIGHTING DESIGN:

Cehao, Yu, BArch, MSc, CEng, MCIBSE, MSLL

Lee Barker-Field AECOM

ARCHITECT:

Barr Gazetas

Grade II listed by the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England

FIXTURE SCHEDULE:

Feature pendant: Jason Bruges Studios (Bespoke)

Emergency lighting: custom by Etap (Bespoke)

Inground lighting: Filix – Bespoke

Linear wall washer: Sagitario Lighting

Spotlight: Iguzzini (Woody)

Integrated signage lighting: LED Flex (Neon Flex)

Concealed linear strip: Sagitario Lighting

In collaboration with London-based architectural firm Barr Gazetas, Cehao Yu and Lee Barker-Field of AECOM oversaw the restoration’s lighting design. Yu and Barker-Field’s primary goal for the project was to highlight the historical features of the arcade with minimal architectural lighting. Additionally, the designers sought to kindle a feeling of welcoming to promote commercial use, as well as to use light to foster “intuitive visual navigation at night.”

Through contemporary architectural illumination, the designers brought some modernity to the arcade while staying true to its historical character. In the arcade, the warmth from the ambient lighting contrasts against the cool from the series of pendants above. These pendants were custom-made by artists at Jason Bruges Studio to match the rest of the arcade’s iconic historical forms and to not overwhelm the space.

To enhance the allure of the arcade and captivate its visitors, Yu and Barker-Field hierarchically staged effects, disrupting

Yu and BarkerField’s primary goal for the project was to highlight the historical features of the arcade with minimal architectural lighting.

uniformity in the light patterning. The interplay between the space’s architectural lighting and the pendants’ theatrical lighting, united under one intelligent control system, mirrors Regent Street’s buzzing energy.

The designers also made sure that the arcade invited shoppers in even as the sun begins to go down. As the day turns to night, the compositional dynamism of the lighting illuminates and energizes the arcade. At dusk, Quadrant Arcade’s elegance and grace continues to shine through, with concealed and carefully aimed lights highlighting its ornate details.

According to Yu, the biggest challenge of the project was “[revealing] the feature architectural details without exposing direct light sources, which would visually compete with the listed building and overwhelm the historic presentation.” In a further effort to preserve the historical integrity of the arcade, the designers recessed emergency lighting into the underside of the cornice “to limit visibility while meeting statutory norms.” 

Photo Credit: Philip Vile

The Last Inch: Why Does the Lighting Industry Still Struggle with Dimming Compatibility?

JOE BOKELMAN, ENTERPRISE LIGHTING & CONTROLS By

Modern lighting control and dimming systems can cover tens of thousands of square feet and control equally vast numbers of lighting fixtures, or as the saying goes, “the first mile”. However, each of those thousands of fixtures are now end points, or “the last inch”, which can easily jeopardize even the best lighting designs due to unpredictable performance with the lighting controls. Most of the technical difficulties of a making lighting product operate correctly with a dimming control have been resolved. With the development of advanced electronics and clever interfaces, combined with thousands of hours spent testing product and resolving field problems,

the technology required to effectively dim and control almost all modern LED lighting exists.

Despite all the above, the industry remains stymied by how to effectively match the dimmer style necessary to control the LED driver used in a given lighting fixture. This lack of compatibility between dimmer and driver creates visibly obvious, unwanted, and often surprising effects like strobing, pulsing, fluttering, popping (jumping to a bright or dim state), ghosting (not turning off completely), blanking (not turning on) and sticking (only full-on or dimming only to a random level). Even worse, some combinations of dimmer and driver show several of these glitches at various set points. For example, some

dimmer/driver interactions will pop on only when set to 100%, strobe while dimming between 100%-50%, stick at the same brightness between 50%1% and then ghost when set to 0%. Some even pulse when set to 0% with a rhythmic electronic heartbeat, while some do all the above for about 10 seconds and then abruptly fizzle out the driver, the dimmer or both. The “magic smoke” packed into those little black boxes escapes forever.

When these glaring problems surface on any project, usually widespread panic ensues. A flood of phone calls, texts and emails are exchanged between the contractor, the design team, and the manufacturers of both the lighting and the dimming control systems. Often the manufacturers of the lighting products do not make the driver, and the lighting and control products are from unrelated companies. The mayhem created drains time, money, and reputations

quickly. Sometimes a quick fix is found, sometimes a compromise in settings masks the problem, but most often demands are made to change-out suspect fixture types or the dimming controls entirely. Fingers are pointed, change orders are issued, and bucks are passed. Often, the mystery of the malfunction remains shrouded in technical jargon and gobbledygook. The mess left behind is a massive distraction for the project itself and the entire project team.

The question is WHY? How can this industry be stuck on this problem?

The answers: a lack of standards and a lack of information.

Criticism about a lack of standards typically targets the dimming control system, and some of the time, the driver. As mentioned above, these two key components are usually not from the same manufacturer in day-to-day projects. There are several reputable companies who have developed both sides of the equation, using either proprietary systems or modified open protocols to provide an overall better chance of success. However, many technical and commercial barriers prevent one or even both pieces from coming together on a project. A significant issue is NOT the compatibility between the driver and the controls, rather it’s whether the available drivers will work the LED arrays used in each fixture type on a project. Even with a broad portfolio of specialty drivers, the chances of having everything work natively on the dimming control system are slim. Some fixture types, usually ‘decorative’, ‘custom’ or other specialty products like LED tape, are designed with LED arrays that use a specific driver or with driver components integral to the LED array. Many of these designs are intended for installation direct to AC power, tested to dim only with wall-box “phase-cut” dimmers, not to a system. Some may not be designed to dim at all!

This challenge is not limited to this “phase cut” technology like the original solid-state dimmer introduced in the 1960’s, several of which still work well with lighting fixtures have a two-wire

The question is WHY? How can this industry be stuck on this problem?

The answers: a lack of standards and a lack of information.

line voltage dimmable LED driver. Weird glitches and poor performance happen even when using the venerable 0-10V analog signals, or when using more advanced digital systems. These modern systems include wired protocols like DALI or DMX, and newer wireless systems using Zigbee, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and possibly combinations of them. While this article does not define these terms, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) does in their recently published ANSI/ IES LP-6-20: Lighting Control SystemsProperties, Selection and Specification, which has section on Open Control Protocols. Full disclosure, I am a co-chair of the IES Lighting Control Systems Committee.

Incredible progress has been made on the technology of dimming and control; many drivers and the control work well together, and the technology may also be standards based, but there are still no guarantees that every fixture type will perform as expected. Add in the recent trend of using color-temperature tuning arrays (CCT/white spectrum), and the continued trend towards smaller and smaller profile fixtures with onboard drivers, and the chances of getting everything to work together is nearly impossible.

Next, consider the second gap stated above: a lack of information. Considering the complexity of the information above, how could the lighting specifier know, for certain, that the lighting fixture specified can be dimmed or controlled using one system or another?

Even with great technology, a vast amount of testing and an obscene amount of money spent developing lighting control products, the problems persist because the information is simply not available or not published clearly. For example, different manufacturers have their own style of publishing information, usually on spec sheets, and each also can indicate their model numbering for options differently. Specifying a standard 0-10V dimming driver may be simply “D” on one fixture, but “010” on another. Note that very few of these designations match from company to company, and not even from brand to brand within the same company. The level of detail provided about the driver or the LED array is highly variable, or there may be no information at all. If the driver uses a protocol, such as DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface), what exactly is supplied? In some cases, there might be two drivers instead of one, which cuts the number of fixtures on a wiring plan in half.

Building on the more recent technology example in the last section, using CCT tuning fixtures requires additional details – for instance, defining how the intensity controlled separately from the CCT range is critical to pairing the lighting up to the controls needed. Perhaps in this example, the driver/CCT LED array uses two separate 0-10V dimming lines, so any control system specified to control it must have an interface capable of managing two 0-10V dimming lines separately, hopefully without doubling the overall number of control devices needed. Next, consider how providing a multi-name specification or reviewing alternate proposals could become exponentially more complex when the level of information provided for each piece of the system is highly variable.

Closing the gaps: Last year, the IES Lighting Control Systems Committee published a new ANSI/IES standard, ANSI/IES RP-42-20: Dimming and Control Method Designations, intended

to provide a model for both specifiers and manufacturers to move towards standardized information. The standard offers symbols, nomenclature and descriptions that can more clearly define what the lighting and control systems offer. It also prompts the specifier to indicate how a particular fixture type will be controlled, whether switched or dimmed, and which control protocol will be used when more than one are onboard. While this new standard is a great start, it is the community that must actually take action to improve. Specifiers need to insist that manufacturers provide detailed information on the control capabilities of the lighting using the tools in RP-42-20. Likewise, manufacturers need to proactively provide these details, and adhere to the designations and formats in the standard. The goal of the authors of RP-42-20, comprised of people from both the design and product communities, is to help push the industry toward solving that remaining, stubborn detail, of what is actually happening at the “last inch” of the system. 

Compliments of Casambi

Jennifer Jaques will be assuming a new position with IES as Director of Membership. Jaques said, “Our industry and world is rapidly changing. I intend to be the spark that ignites excitement, participation, growth and innovation about the lighting industry among those who know the IES and our industry, and those who don’t yet know the knowledge, wisdom, and impact our industry, and our Society, can bring to the world.”

Crestron expanded Design Manager Frank M. Lepore’s role into the Northeastern United States and Canada. His new territories include New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Crestron announced the expansion of Design Manager Eric Enright’s role into the Western United States and Canada. His new territories include California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington State, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, British Columbia, and Alberta.

GE Current, a Daintree company, has named Carla Bukalski, PE, LC, LEED AP, its Director of Specification following a search for highly talented individuals with a mind for lighting inspiration and innovation.

Carla joins Current with 25 years of specification industry experience including tenures with Cooper Lighting Solutions as regional specification sales manager, as well as Osram Sylvania where she served as a specification engineer.

Jennifer Jaques Eric Enright

Frank Lepore

Carla Bukalski

RESIDENTIAL BUILDER BOOM

There is good news in what has otherwise been a year fraught with economic doom and gloom, and one of those bright spots is the residential housing market. According to National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which analyzes data gathered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, housing demand is staying the course on its upward trajectory with sales consistently beating last year’s impressive numbers.

“Historically low mortgage rates, favorable demographics, and an ongoing suburban shift for home buyer preferences have spurred demand and increased new home sales by nearly 17% in 2020 on a year-to-date basis,” says NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke. “Though builders continue to sign sales contracts at a solid pace, lot and material availability is holding back some building activity. Looking ahead to next year, regulatory policy risk will be a key concern given these supplyside constraints.”

The NAHB reports that regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up in all four regions: 22.5% in the Northeast, 25.9% in the Midwest, 14.4% in the South, and 18% in the West. In addition, the latest NAHB/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released mid-November reveals builder confidence levels in the new construction single-family homes sector have hit successive all-time highs over the past three months, increasing five points to 90 in November, shattering the previous all-time high of 85 in October.

Lighting Showrooms Report Brisk Sales

“In short, builder business has been phenomenal even in the wake of the pandemic,” admits Donovan Turney, who just relocated from the Light Ideas showroom in Florida to Hermitage

With interest rates at historic lows – and predicted to stay low for some time – new home construction is on the rise nationwide as supply struggles to meet demand.

LINDA LONGO

Photo

Lighting Gallery in Nashville for an opportunity to further expand the latter showroom’s success in the housing sector. In Florida, Turney says the showroom experienced record numbers in spring and summer and the same growth is happening in the greater Nashville area with no signs of slowing.

For lighting distributors that do the majority of their business in builder packages and new construction – no matter which region of the country they serve – the sector has been thriving, even when most of the country’s retailers were shut down for in-person sales. The reason is two-fold: not only are interest rates at record lows, but builders do not need to come into a showroom and spend considerable time picking out individual pieces like a homeowner would. “Most of what [the larger builders] are buying are predetermined packages that we set up for them with our preferred vendors,” Turney explains.

Lights Unlimited in North Carolina had a similar experience with its showrooms. While the stores were closed to walkin business in the spring, employees were able to take phone and email orders plus bundle builder orders for curbside pick up while social distancing appropriately. For custom, luxury home builders – whose product selections are

Turney says the showroom experienced record numbers in spring and summer and the same growth is happening in the greater Nashville area with no signs of slowing.

Photo credit: designing lighting

much more tailored to the individual home buyer – video technology took the place of face-to-face meetings.

On the flip side, those lighting showrooms whose revenue is heavily reliant on walk-in foot traffic – whether by consumers or interior designers –were hardest hit financially during the spring and summer months as delayed reopening and occupancy limitations significantly impacted their profitability. As those restrictions lifted, however, business has reportedly returned to preCOVID levels.

“By and large business is good across the board,” notes Lisa Bartlett, owner of Pace Lighting in Savannah, Georgia. “Housing and construction didn’t stop in most places, and for many of us it even picked up! There are exceptions to be sure, but mostly showrooms are doing well and some are even having recordsetting years.”

Bartlett reports that consumer walk-in traffic has also returned. “There is still a fair amount of browsing, but most of that browsing converts to sales — which was not the case pre-pandemic,” she states.

As the founder of the Lighting Showroom Association (LSA), which began as a grassroots networking group of independent lighting showrooms across the U.S. and Canada, Bartlett was able to negotiate drop-shipping terms and free freight allowances among major lighting manufacturers for the LSA membership. The move allows lighting retailers to better compete with online distributors who offer consumers free shipping along with attractive price points for similar products.

“These programs have helped our instore business a lot,” Bartlett explains. “It depends on the geographic area, but we have some customers that drive one hour or so to shop in our store. They are thrilled that we can ship their order direct to their homes for no extra

charge, and they don’t have to make a return trip to pick something up, and I’m thrilled that I don’t have to pay a delivery driver! These programs also allow us to get product faster, which is critical. Amazon and other online stores have consumers 100% convinced that receiving product two days after

you order it is a completely normal and feasible thing, so we have to at least come close to that mark.”

At a particular disadvantage are the small lighting showrooms that rely upon in-person sales and do not have an ecommerce-enabled website. Since

Photo credit: Joe Ciciarelli

the pandemic began, however, the percentage of showrooms that do not offer a digital shopping cart has been decreasing as those owners have scrambled to sign on with third-party providers who can supply that capability.

Bumps in the Road

Shortages in lumber and other building materials may slow the speed of construction growth in the months ahead. As NAHB’s Dietz points out, “Affordability remains an ongoing concern, as construction costs continue to rise and interest rates are expected to move higher as more positive news emerges on the coronavirus vaccine front. In the short run, the shift of housing demand to lower-density markets such as suburbs and exurbs with ongoing low resale inventory levels is supporting demand for home building.”

Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, shared a similar viewpoint during his keynote session at the recent American Lighting Association (ALA) Virtual Symposium. “Home builders are showing the greatest optimism they’ve had in many years. We see the same thing in the existing home market, which makes up 85 percent of the housing market,” he states. “There’s been a really big bounce from people taking advantage of the low interest rates. When mortgage rates drop to less than 3 percent, everybody gets off the fence and buys homes that they can afford. The problem is, because there’s such a scarce inventory, it has caused prices to reach record high levels.” Overall, the strength of the housing markets provides good news for the lighting industry. “We’re expecting to see a good bounce for the kinds of household items [lighting showrooms sell] based on the housing market numbers,” Baumohl says.

Aside from the construction market, he cautions, “We’re going to have to brace ourselves for what is about

to unfold socially and economically. The whole economic and business landscape has really been shaken up in a way we haven’t seen since The Great Depression. We cannot fix the economy until we fix the health crisis. We’ve had some positive economic news lately with retail sales coming back, but I want to caution everybody. An economic rebound is not the same as an economic recovery. We have to guard ourselves against a false sense of security. Just be prepared. The virus is still calling the shots when it comes to where the economy is going.”

Taking a general economic overview, Baumohl shares, “During the 20072008 financial crisis, it took seven years for the Senate to move up short-term rates. It will take years for the labor market to overcome the damage done by COVID-19. It’s probably going to take 5 to 10 years before we’re at pre-COVID levels in employment and the economy — and it’s going to depend on a number of factors such as the effectiveness of the vaccine and the stimulus package coming out.”

Looking further down the road, Baumohl sees deglobalization on the horizon as a result of recent tariffs affecting imports from China over the past two years with no reversal in sight. “Companies have learned that the international trade environment has changed,” he explains. “China is no longer the world’s manufacturing center because of the tariffs and the higher wages as well as the geopolitical risk of keeping their plants there. And those companies that have plants there, or rely on imports from China, have been burned because they have to pay the higher tariffs.”

In fact, since the first tariffs were imposed in early 2018, lighting manufacturers have

been looking elsewhere to either relocate their plants or seek new suppliers in places like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Bangladesh — and quite a few have already successfully made the transition. “The problem is that a lot of these countries don’t have the skilled labor, equipment, or quality control needed or the infrastructure to transport those goods on railways and into ports,” Baumohl comments.

Baumohl predicts that some form of domestic manufacturing could increase as more lighting and furniture manufacturers consider repatriating their supply chains now that the economics have changed in foreign labor and freight costs. “Part of the equation in this decision is to look at some of the new technologies in the United States such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and 3D printing,” he remarks. “That could change the cost structure of operating in the U.S. and also create greater alliance with your supply chain because they are based in the U.S. as well. This is some of the new thinking that we’ll be seeing more of. The big questions are whether companies will have to charge more for their products – since it’s more expensive to operate in the U.S. – and will American customers be willing to pay more for products made here.”

Photo credit: designing lighting

CAL L FOR E N T R

THE NLB TESLA AWARDS™ program recognizes excellence in new construction or retrofit lighting projects that through the creative use of lighting systems and controls enhance the value of lighting for occupants. The main intent of the THE NLB TESLA AWARDS™ is to promote best practices in indoor and outdoor lighting applications for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal projects. Lighting design and implementation teams may include: lighting designers, manufacturers, agents, distributors, facility managers or engineers, building owners and occupants, and/or researchers.

The “value of lighting” end-user benefit categories may include bu t ar e no t limite d to: health and wellness, productivity, safety and security, visual comfort, control of light pollution, retail/commercial performance, and entertainment.

Judgin g criteri a are : us e o f state-of-the-ar t lightin g an d controls , applicatio n innovation through needs assessment and project team coordination, documentation to validate enhance d “valu e o f lighting ” claims , leve l o f difficult y, cos t effectiveness , and sustainability

Anyone may enter a project for the THE NLB TESLA AWARDS™ There are no fees for entry Projects should have been installed within the 2019 and 2020 calendar years. Submissions should be completed online by May 3, 2021.

Winning projects will be recognized during LightFair 2021 in New York City and will receive additional publicity in press releases, and industry newsletters and websites.

Challenges on Many Fronts

JACOB WRIGHT

Maxlite CEO, Spencer Bolgard, and CFO, Peter Maier, shared some of their observations with me about the state of shipping.

ith the damage the pandemic has caused, logistical problems have become one of the most daunting issues within our industry today. Increased lead times, price inflation and exorbitant shipping costs are now at the forefront. In a recent article on our sister site, EdisonReport, we published an article detailing the results of a survey done by Channel Marketing Group about what individuals in the industry forecast for 2021 price increases and business volume. In summary, the results indicated prices decreasing and business volume remaining flat or increasing, which did not coincide with recent headlines of price increases and product procurement issues. Randy Reid, editor of both designing lighting and The EdisonReport, says he believes the current industry-wide price increase will stick because every single company is experiencing higher raw material costs, as well as dramatically higher transportation costs.

They explained that lead times have gotten longer due to the effects of COVID-19 on supply chain operations and port capacity. Typically, a lead time of 80-90 days for ocean shipments was the norm. Today, according to to Spencer Bolgard, lead times peaked to 180 days in October, presenting issues on many fronts. One issue is that most customers will not be pleased hearing such long lead times. Mr. Bolgard expanded on this, mentioning how distributors will essentially go down the list of manufacturers to see if they have a product in stock and whoever has it wins the sale. Another interesting and negative effect of long lead times is one of obsolescence. Products that have been engineered and developed to particular specs could be obsolete or inferior to the up-to-date technology by the time 180 days have passed and they arrive in a U.S. warehouse. Lead times have a significant impact, both directly and indirectly, on the operations of a business, maybe more so than we realized before the pandemic hit.

The current situation regarding containers and port congestion is a poor one. Peter Maier explained that they’ve taken a snapshot of the Long Beach port and over 180,000 containers are backed up and still waiting to be offloaded. According to a

Washington Post article about shipping issues, the Port of Los Angeles saw 42 ships anchored and waiting to unload cargo, despite warehouses already being full. In addition, a market update release by JAS Forwarding detailed that vessels, on average, are experiencing a delay of 10-14 days past the initial estimate for arrival, with the situation not forecasted to improve in the first quarter of 2021. Mr. Maier and Mr. Bolgard corroborated this forecast, as they both believe the situation will not improve until the second quarter or April at the very earliest.

Rounding out the discussion, they explained how this all ties into price increases. Freight charges for ocean shipments have increased by 15%. A shipping container that used to cost $2,0003,000 now costs $6,000-7,000. Add up all of these costs with added obstacles like price increases in raw materials and lost sales due to protracted lead times, many companies are just unable to absorb the costs. Steel, copper and aluminum have climbed to their highest prices in years, and COVID-19 has caused a world-wide shortage of electronic components due to a shortage in labor and increased consumer demand.

Despite the many obstacles the industry faces today, Randy Reid and Spencer Bolgard both believe the price increases are a necessity that will ultimately help strengthen the industry in the long term.

COMING IN APRIL

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We applaud the achievements of lighting practitioners and recognize the importance of their work in architecture and design.

Up Close with Randy Burkett

Ifyou went back in time about 10 or 15 years ago, 70% to 75% of our practice was interior lighting. Today at least 50% of our work is exterior, and we are doing more outdoor work even compared to before COVID. So, the trend had already started. Now that we’re all indoors most of the time, people are really craving outdoors. We are revisiting some of our projects and seeking ways to expand outdoor usage and engagement.

Today, even in projects that are under construction, we see building owners going back to the architect and asking for more plaza space; specifically, more outdoor gathering space than originally planned. They are going back to the drawing board, even in urban areas. Architects are adding balconies and creating cafe spill-out zones on street fronts in order to increase exterior space.

We are hearing from many of our clients that they desire more outdoor space, even seeking ways to make the outdoors more present inside for those working indoors.

Occasionally, we will do corporate campus work. There has been some groundbreaking work done by companies like Apple and Google who have large campuses with ample opportunity to expand outside. It’s no longer just corporate campuses out in the country. We’re starting to see it in urban environments where designers are tasked to create an outdoor space. Corporate campuses have been stressing the use of outdoor space as

an interaction community. People utilize these hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces for meetings and gatherings. Of course, lighting must respond to that too, because in many cases these spaces may have a different life after dark.

We’re working on a project here in Saint Louis where the designers have captured outdoor space by adding a couple of terraces and giving back some interior space to create an overhanging area with café seating. For years this particular building didn’t have an inviting presence for those who worked downtown. Pedestrians saw this as just another office building, a monolith. But now the first two floors of this 24-story building are being transformed into an engaging interior space with beautiful wood ceilings that are illuminated and visible from the street. These improvements help make the building an active participant in the street frontage and set it apart from the shuttered structures we often see in urban areas.

Many climates like that of California and some of the southern US states can extend their summer, spring and autumn well into the winter by just doing a modest amount of warming. We are seeing designs that build in fireplaces and fire pits; they become part of the structure and are in some cases discretely built into the architecture. There is a restaurant up the street from us who has built in a series of pergolas. People are outside eating breakfast at 7:00 a.m. on weekends and it’s 40 degrees.

The pandemic has significantly impacted our work, leading us to design more outdoor projects. I think people thrive in outdoor environments and they feel more comfortable. Everything we hear is that exercising out of doors is so much healthier for us, rather than going to the corporate gym or running around the indoor track. Think about the importance of urban

communities. We just did a master plan for the city of San Antonio and one of the things that they got really excited about was learning how they could make use of secondary space like alleys and vacant lots. For example, pop-up retail and food vendors would be deployed on the weekends or perhaps during dedicated periods in the calendar for food court week or specific city district celebrations. We can drive that foot traffic with lighting. Normally, people walk down an urban street and avoid dark, uninviting alleyways at all costs. Now, cities are turning alleys into art hallways, galleries or food halls and more! People linger there. Young new artists get to display work.

We surveyed over 1200 people on the masterplan and 71% of the respondents agreed that the lighting around where they work plays a meaningful role in whether they stay after work for cultural activities. 71% of the people said lighting influences that decision! We are changing how people view downtown at night.

People have to be outside because of this pandemic, and they really enjoy it. Do I think this trend will continue long after the pandemic? Absolutely. 

EdisonReport.tv serves as a hub for all digital content in the lighting industry. A premier source for critical information surrounding lighting, EdisonReport.tv is dedicated to delivering industry news by way of video and serving its audience by spotlighting product launches and up-to-date educational videos, as well as information about upcoming webinars.

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