Restoring an Icon to the Hudson River Skyline
Watched with anticipation and documented almost daily by Hoboken411.com, the new Hoboken Clock Tower was dedicated at a relighting ceremony this past May. The original tower, which had been demolished in the 1950's to avoid a collapse, was carefully recreated by a collaborative team of designers, historic preservation specialists, and contractors.
Fiber optic "marquee bulbs" mimic the original incandescent lamps that outlined the letters spelling out "LACKAWANNA." Parallel beam floodlights illuminate the tower on either side of the letters, articulating the details of the tower without interfering with the brilliance of the letters themselves. These contemporary lighting tools allowed IA to recreate the "historic" lighting with solutions that minimize energy consumption and maintenance requirements. The result is a new source of pride for the City of Hoboken and a new signature on the Hudson waterfront. |
In Design
The new I-74 corridor will run through Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa across the Mississippi River to Moline, Illinois and will include new Basket Handle True Arch Twin Bridge structures over the Mississippi River.
The renovation of the historic Kings County Courthouse building will include a complete
redesign of the Lobby and courtroom lighting to provide a more welcoming experience
and ease the wayfinding process.
The expansion and
renovation of the Peddie School sports facility will include a new natatorium, a
fitness center and expanded public gathering areas. The contemporary
design of the building will include luminous polycarbonate walls to
allow daylight to penetrate all of the spaces within the building.
The Penn State Berks classroom building is intended to serve many purposes, this classroom and lab building will
also include a café, collaborative work space, faculty and staff
offices, and a variety of classroom and lab spaces.
On the Way
Rockefeller Brothers Fund Headquarters.
Clinton Street Bridge over the St. Mary's River.
Jersey City Public Library Miller Branch. |
Who's Who @ IA
Awilda Gorman Administrative Assistant and so much
more!
Awilda recently celebrated her first anniversary with IA, and
we still wonder how we ever got by without her. She operates as taskmaster, den
mother, secretary, security guard and protector. In more earthly terms, that
means that Awilda does everything from answering phones to organizing marketing
materials to creating office standards. Most importantly, she takes
responsibilities that allow us to focus on our clients and the lighting design
work that is the core of who we are and what we do best. Prior to coming to IA,
Awilda worked as a Mortgage Processor Manager and as a Property Manager, but for
the past ten years, we all know that her most important job has been her son,
Jarrett.
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The Lazy Days of Summer?
As with many of our
colleagues in the architectural and transportation worlds, we kept busy this
summer, with no apparent evidence in these industries of the recession that is
gripping the country. Public structures and LEED projects seem to be leading
the pack, with RFPs coming in daily for these types of assignments. We have a
couple of theories as to why these project types in particular are so
active:
Energy has become so
valuable and global warming has become so critical that owners and developers,
both public and private, are willing to pay the capital costs necessary to
reduce their carbon footprint. Rebates for using energy saving strategies
soften the blow of the cost of these projects and the long-term savings adds to
the benefits.
Transportation
projects are a necessity, not a luxury, and with heightened fears about the
safety of our aging infrastructure, the public is more than willing to see their
tax dollars go toward the building of safe, efficient structures and the
overhaul and repair of existing ones.
This growing and evolving workload
is changing the way we think (see Green Notes below), helping to strengthen
awareness of lighting as a critical component of the design process, and
allowing us to continue to serve you, our clients, with beautiful, energy
efficient lighting.
Ken and Faith
Principals |
The National Audubon Society - A Platinum Project
Achieving LEED-CI Platinum requires the cooperation of the entire team, from the building owner to the contractor. The design process for Audubon's new headquarters space in New York City required a close collaboration between all of the design team members. As a result, Illumination Arts was able to help the project achieve all of the lighting-related LEED points.
EA Credit 1.1 Optimize Energy Performance, Lighting Power: A project can achieve as many as three points through the reduction of the connected Lighting Power Density (otherwise known as "watts per square foot") below that allowed by ASHRAE 90.1-2004. For Audubon, we were 35% below ASHRAE, earning all three points. This achievement required a lower standard for ambient lighting levels in the space. This was relatively easy because we were working with a client for whom sustainable design is in keeping with their mission and we knew that this would be perceived as a visual symbol of their commitment to this vision. Single lamp, linear fluorescent direct/indirect luminaires were mounted in non-continuous rows for even light distribution and low Lighting Power Density throughout the open office space. In conference rooms, low wattage compact fluorescent downlights illuminate the space while matching wallwashers provide vertical illumination and increase the sense of openness in the room. In private offices, the same CFL downlights are used in conjunction with under cabinet task lighting to provide sufficient light levels on the work surface.
EA Credit 1.2 Optimize Energy Performance, Lighting Controls: Installing daylight responsive controls in all regularly occupied spaces within 15 feet of the windows provided an opportunity for energy savings because daylight fills the space during much of the day. Throughout these perimeter spaces, luminaires were fitted with electronic dimming ballasts that were programmed and controlled by a central communication system. Light levels along the 15' perimeter dim to achieve a minimum light level when daylight is sufficient. In addition, manual on/auto off occupancy sensors control the lights in the private offices to minimize wasted energy when these rooms are not occupied.
EQ Credit 6.1: Controllability of Systems, Lighting: Lighting controls for at least 90% of the occupants enables adjustments to suit individual task needs and preferences. Every desk is fitted with a task light - either portable or permanent - to allow the employee to control the light level in their space with the flip of a switch.
Meeting these goals earned the project five LEED-CI credits toward Platinum certification and allowed IA to be a significant participant in achieving the client's sustainable design objectives. |
Green Notes
Luminous Flux
Having been involved in the lighting industry for twenty years, we have seen many trends and technological changes come and go, with each leaving its mark on the profession and practice of lighting design.
New light sources are developed, new software is implemented, and new processes lead to innovation and increased productivity. However, no trend or improvement in technology has had an effect as dramatic as the current reshaping of our industry around sustainable design.
The broad acceptance of Sustainable Design principles and LEED Certification is redefining the built environment in a myriad of ways, from the materials used to construct and furnish a building, to remaking the very definition of what a building is and how its inhabitants should interact with it.
Lighting, with its direct impact on human psychology, space definition, and energy consumption, has been one of the disciplines of building design in the forefront of these issues. The choices made by the lighting designer, in conjunction with the rest of the design team will determine whether the built environment achieves the goals of the architect and owner, while at the same time providing the occupants with an environment that fulfills its goals, is pleasant to occupy and is energy efficient and sustainable.
Extremely efficient fluorescent lamp and ballast combinations, LED and low wattage metal halide sources are just a few of the many new tools that have been delivered to the lighting profession in the last few years to help us meet these sometimes apparently contradictory goals of a livable and pleasant environment that also uses the least amount of energy possible.
However, no technological solution can achieve the goal alone; the entire design team must be invested in the goal of achieving a well lit, efficient space. Decisions as varied as site selection, building orientation, glazing and interior finishes will all have a dramatic effect on the ultimate success of a building's lighting and environmental systems.
Initial discussions of the lighting systems and how they will interact with the finished structure should be part of the very earliest discussions in a building's design so that informed choices are made in terms of building massing, solar exposure and fenestration.
Through early and long term collaboration between the lighting designer, owner and design team we can ensure that our future designs are both beautiful and sustainable.
We here at Illumination Arts look forward to meeting these challenges with our clients in what we envision to be a green and sustainable future.
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