Lighting Design dot NYC

2016 Award of Excellence

Lighting Designer: Fisher Marantz Stone: Charles G. Stone II, Paula Martinez-Nobles, Katheryn Czub

Architect: Lehman Smith McLeish

Owner: Covington & Burling LLP

An evening approach to this 450,000 sq ft office building reveals aunified, single-tenant presence throughout. The softly glowing exterior belies an uncluttered and dramatic luminous interior environment, as conceived by the architects. An iconic lighting program meets the diverse needs of this prominent organization.Ninety-nine percent of the lighting on the completed project uses LED technology. Crisp and modern, lines of light articulate perimeters and frame transitions. In the high-energy employee café, triangular ceiling panels give the appearance of glowing seams and woven intersections. While conference and teleconference rooms have luminous ceilings that provide dynamic flexibility and ideal soft light for cameras.Thoughtful collaboration ensured that light fixtures are rigorously aligned with the interior architecture. Small, shallow fixtures integrate seamlessly with architectural details, while providing uniform illumination. The result is efficient, effective and beautiful.

Photography: Jon Miller Hedrich Blessing; Richard Bryant Arcaid Images; Prakash Patel Photography

2016 Award of Excellence

Lighting Designer: Tillotson Design Associates Suzan Tillotson, Ellen Sears, David Burya

Architect: CetraRuddy Architecture D.P.C.: John Cetra, Nancy Ruddy, Theresa Genovese, Branko Potocnik

Owner: Lincoln Square Synagogue

Undulating ribbons of glass form the east facade of this Upper West Side synagogue, representing the sacred Torah scroll and uniting the Sanctuary, the Beit Midrash and the classroom space. The stone ends of the facade suggest the protective covering for the Torah and the Tabernacle within. The glass ribbons are formed of facets of double-laminated, insulating glass panels encapsulating bronze-colored, pleated, sheer-woven Trevira in between. A white ceramic, silkscreen dot pattern on the interior lite allows a slightly obscured view to the interior, while increasing privacy for worshipers inside.The Tillotson Design team incorporated lines of LEDs behind the facade’s extrusions, with complex wiring details running through to remote drivers. The ceramic frit catches the light, creating a glowing wall that in the evening forms a backdrop for the Sanctuary’s Ark. Tiny recessed LED downlights sparkle like stars in the gently convex ceiling, but they are zoned to provide purposeful accent and aisle lighting. LED coves, with resin diffusers, spill soft light onto the angled acoustical wall panels to accentuate the form, and to complete the imagery of the first tabernacle: a nomadic tent under the desert sky.

Photography: David Sundberg/Esto; Emile Dubuisson, StudioDubuisson

2016 Award of Merit

Lighting Designer: One Lux Studio: Stephen Margulies, Adriana Amendolara

Architect: Mancini DuffyT. Lee Trimble, Krista Merrill

Owner: 85 Broad Street LLC – A Subsidiary of MetLife, Inc.

When Hurricane Sandy hit Manhattan in October 2012, the cellar level of 85 Broad Street was completely flooded. The water destroyed a cafeteria space that had been refreshed only a month before. After the clean-up, the building owner saw an opportunity to reposition the eatery to compete with nearby restaurants. Likewise, the designers at One Lux Studio transformed challenges into opportunities: creating a more expansive and brighter space through thoughtful programming and integrated design.Located below grade with no access to natural light, the space is at a major disadvantage. Tricks were played with compressed thresholds and ceiling and floor materials to create the illusion of movement and volume, all reinforced by careful lighting. The reflective surfaces often double the lighting effects, creating wide vistas within this restrictive volume.The various layers of lighting create unique visual moments, inviting tenants for an enhanced dining experience.

Photography: Eric Laignel

2016 Award of Merit

Lighting Designer: Tillotson Design Associates Suzan Tillotson, Erin Dreyfous, Megan Pfeffer Trimarchi

ARCHITECT: Diller Scofidio + RenfroElizabeth Diller, Kevin Rice, Andrea Schelly

Owner: The Broad

The striking Broad Museum has become an integral part of the Downtown LA experience, and is crucial to the redevelopment of the area. The lighting design takes its cues from the primary architectural components, dubbed “the veil and the vault.” The veil’s public exhibition space envelops the heavy vault, archive storage space that supports the Broad’s lending activities. The veil transforms after dark into a softly illuminated, cellular exoskeleton that wraps the dark, opaque vault as it hovers off the ground.Horizontal prows at the primary entries are lit with precisely shuttered uplights, creating a luminous threshold for patrons to pass through the transparent lobby facade. The airy, delicate nature of the veil facade is emphasized by a soft wash of light. In-grade LED fixtures with custom lenses and shielding accentuate the highlights and shadows of each unique cell. Luminaires are confined within the designated setback zone, and appropriate luminances were calculated and confirmed through on-site mock-ups. Despite its bold nighttime presence, the lighting design prevents light trespass on nearby residential towers, the titanium-clad concert hall and adjacent art museum – thus integrating this cultural landmark into the context of a Downtown renaissance.

Photography:Iwan Baan Photography John Muggenborg Photography

2016 Award of Merit

Lighting Designer: BuroHappold Engineering: Gabe Guilliams, Pei-Chun Yang, Nick Mykulak, Chris Coulte

Architect: Handel Architects Peter Miller, Rick Kearns

Owner: Grace Farms Foundation

Gently flowing down its hillside, forming pond-like spaces on its journey, The River Building at Grace Farms imbues a sense of calm. This is the new home for Grace Farms. Its mission: to create an environment where visitors draw inspiration from nature, encounter the arts, pursue justice, foster community and explore faith. The lighting seamlessly supports this mission, creating a sublime evening experience as day transitions to night. BurroHappold succeeded in maintaining the architecture’s remarkable connection to the site, inviting people to engage with the expansive surroundings.The walkways, courtyards and glass-enclosed volumes beneath a 1400 ft long, sinuous roof structure are transparent, dissolving the boundaries between inside and out. Wooden ceilings, both inside and out, are bathed in light, and this warm glow becomes the primary wayfinding cue. The delicate balance of brightnesses enhances the transparency of the glazed volumes and unifies the dining room, library and sanctuary.By connecting the structure to the landscape and its topography, by day and into the night, The River Building ultimately connects people to place and to each other.

Photography: Gabe GuilliamsIwan Baan Photography

2016 Award of Merit:

Lighitng Designer: BuroHappold Engineering Gabe Guilliams, Nick Mykulak

Architect: Moore Ruble YudellNeal Matsuno, Adam Padua, Simone Barth, Mackey Mitchell Architects: Jim Konrad, Dan Schneider

Owner: Washington University Brown School of Social Work

As an expansion to the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, much of Hillman Hall matches the campus’s collegiate, Gothic vernacular: punched windows in red granite and limestone facades. On approach from the campus green to the north, however, the building’s facade is intentionally transparent – cultivating a sense of inclusion and invitation to the university community.Central to this north facade is the Forum – the heart of the school. The warm glow of the wood-clad Forum invites both happenstance acquaintance and formalized meetings. The space includes 25 lighting layers; most are linear fixtures routed in the top of the wood structure, indirectly lighting the ceiling above and softly filtering back through the woodwork. The team constructed a full-scale mock-up to study the visual impact of numerous obstructions above the structure, and to understand the photometry of the custom pendant hanging below the oculus.The exterior lighting for Hillman Hall pushes well beyond the campus standard, engaging the three buildings in an intimate visual dialogue – beginning with tree uplights between Goldfarb and Hillman and finishing by illuminating the facade of the historic Brown Hall tower for all to see from within Hillman Hall’s Forum.

Photography: Gabe Guilliams

2016 Award of Merit

Lighting Designer: Domingo Gonzalez Associates: Domingo Gonzalez, Nancy Lok, Phat Quach

Architect: Civic Engineering & IT, Inc.

Owners: Nashville Metro Public Works

A mere 11 months – from concept to completion – saw the “Gateway” Bridge transformed, using lighting alone, into an icon of the city of Nashville. Choosing a wirelessly controlled, remotely accessible LED system was inevitable, given the energy savings, luminaire durability and versatility available. But determining the best option to replace the existing (and rather underwhelming) cable lighting, and to celebrate the structure as a whole, was far less obvious.Despite the breakneck design and construction schedule, DGA evaluated multiple approaches for their visual impact; effect on structure; glare control; mitigation of light pollution; maintainability and, as a municipal project, adherence to budget. Lighting calculations performed during the design phase, and mock-ups undertaken during construction, bore out the validity of the final selection and smoothed construction.Today, deeply shielded arch washers are individually addressable, providing colorful celebrations of light for special occasions. Structure-mounted linear LEDs in 3000K set the scarlet deck girders aglow, while cable washers and land-based pole-mounted floodlights balance the bridge’s dynamic presence as Nashville’s “front door.”

Photography: Bob Schatz: Domingo Gonzalez Associates

2016 Citation for Skillful Illumination of a historical Facade

Lighting Designer: Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design Francesca Bettridge, Michael Hennes, Jeff Hoenig

Owner: Vornado Realty Trust

How does one transform a bank building, never intended to be illuminated at night, into a theater that comes alive after dark? This Off-Broadway theater on Manhattan’s Union Square presented significant lighting challenges that, compounded by the building’s landmark status, severely restricted what could be altered.Using the dramatic shadows and details visible in bright sunlight as inspiration, the designers turned the building itself into its own marquee. Since stock fixtures fell short of the lighting and landmark goals, their solution was to develop a totally new fixture; one with a minimal 2-5/8 inch profile that could illuminate the 60 ft facades.Employing versatility and precision, this single fixture provides the project’s sole source of illumination. The full expanse of the facade is evenly illuminated, with almost no light spill on the sidewalk below. Subtle details and carved features, heretofore lost, are suddenly revealed in shadows and light.Elegant lighting animates the building and gives the once invisible theater a jewel-box presence.

Photography: David Sundberg/Esto

2016 Citation for Historical Interpretation

Lighting Designer: Cooley Monato StudioRenée Cooley, Adam Kroll, Natalia Lesniak

Architect: Gabellini Sheppard Associates: Kimberly Sheppard, Michael Gabellini, Daniel Garbowit Gulay Dukkanci Silvia Maffei Kentaro Ishihara Courtney Adams Randall Goya

Owner: Paul Warchol

Located in the heart of Midtown New York, the lobby at 30 Rockefeller Plaza serves as the entryway for NBC television studios and live audiences. The project encompassed renovations of active lobby spaces, the re-creation of a grand staircase that had been lost to time, and construction of a new audience lounge to meet modern needs. This restoration captures the essence of the original 1930s Art Deco design while renewing the space with contemporary elements and technology.Visitors arriving at the lower lobby are greeted by a custom chandelier of bronze, concentric rings, which integrates LED uplights, surrounded by a cove. A larger chandelier of similar design draws visitors up the grand staircase to the mezzanine where it is the centerpiece. Adding to the majestic feel of the mezzanine rotunda, a perimeter cove highlights bronze mirror walls without reflecting onto video screens, and keeps viewing within comfortable contrast ratios. Cooley Monato’s lighting restores the original Art Deco design while incorporating state-of-the-art technology – helping establish 30 Rock as a modern center for creative media.

Photography: Paul Warchol

2016 Citation for Elegant and Restrained Restoration

Lighting Designer: ICRAVE Lighting Renée Joosten, Patricia Vallejo

Owner: OTG: Rick Blatstein, Founder and CEO

Interior Design:I CRAVE: Lionel Ohayon, Founder and CEO; Greg Merkel, Creative Director

Despite its historic radial ceiling and skylight, Terminal A at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was dimly lit, uninviting and visually uninteresting. To establish the new Page eatery as focal point, the ICRAVE team designed a flowering structure, with ten petals in a circular configuration, that aligns to and celebrates the existing ceiling structure.Each petal holds six custom, four-channel LED uplights that crossfade a range of white and amber light in multiple beam optics. Various lighting scenes respond to an astronomic time clock to balance the abundant and transitional daylight. The programming provides a dynamic setting that complements incoming daylight and creates a warm environment at night. The soft glow emanating from the structure’s core illuminates the pendant speaker dome, anchoring the sculpture with carefully controlled beampatterns.This one-of-a-kind sculpture, paired with a transitional lighting show, transforms the terminal, bringing a bold update to the historic architecture.

Photography: Giulio Calisse, ICRAVE

2016 Citation for Temporary Art Installation

Lighting Design: Christine Sciulli, Artist

Gallery: Smack Mellon: Kathleen Gilrain, Executive Director and Chief Curator; Suzanne Kim, Deputy Director and Director of Exhibitions; Tyler Henry, Media Systems Manager

ROIL was a site-specific art installation of tulle and white light at Smack Mellon Gallery, in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Frenzied, expanding and collapsing circles of white light were projected through a site-wide soft sculpture in the gallery’s cavernous raw space, a 55 by 28 by 35 ft high installation. The impression harkened back to the roiling steam that once issued from this hall. Here boilers superheated, churned and compressed water into hissing steam that pulsed through pipes and coursed into the surrounding factories of paper product industrialist Robert Gair.ROIL was created from moving light in the form of kinetic circles projected into 2000 yards of hand-pinned fabric. Eight video projectors were mounted at different vertical angles so that the viewer was always in a skewed relationship to most of the cylinders of light. Projections were “caught” in the network of white translucent fabric as they extended out in constant motion.With circles expanding and contracting at various rates, the dynamic dialogue among front, rear and side projections presented seemingly arbitrary geometries, dancing ephemera.

Photography: Etienne Frossard, Paul Warchol

2016 Citation for Historical Restoration

Lighting Designer: Nathan Orsman

The illumination of the lobby of the iconic Sherry-Netherland hotel and residences took place after the restoration of the original Beaux-Art mural painted in 1927 by Joseph Aruta. Orsman Design was commissioned to illuminate the spectacular mural and spent much time studying the history of the building, including reviewing old photographs and interviewing residents and management.More than a dozen coats of paint and plaster had covered the 860 sq ft mural, and it took five conservationists 6 months to restore. Once completed, Orsman Design managed the lighting installation. As there was no preexisting wiring, extreme care was taken to conceal all the wiring and remotely locate linear LED drivers. The intent was to illuminate the ceiling but not draw attention to the light sources. This process involved extensive mock-ups, testing and experimentation with multiple LED products. The product selected is the one that best fits the hotel’s history; more on the warmer side at 2300K. As they dim, the LEDs emulate the color shift found in incandescents, growing even warmer as they dim down to 1 percent.The lighting design subtly reveals the brilliant mural at night, providing warmth and grandeur for guests of this elegant boutique hotel.

Photography: Michael Stavaridis