Our built environment plays a crucial role in determining the quality of energy we consume. As the nation invests in grid modernization and resiliency, there is a growing emphasis on electrification, renewable energy integration, and carbon reduction. With this, Direct Current (DC) power is key to easily connecting our buildings to renewable resources and energy…

The texture of crystal provided the inspiration for Vermilion Zhou Design Group’s renovation of the Crystal Orange Hotel in Shanghai. Lighting guides guests inside, transforming through different objects and spaces with a goal of releasing visitors from the pressures of the busy outside world. Supporting the motif is an infinity mirror box (pictured) located between…

Light flows in and out of this bike barn on a school campus in Arkansas. A barn that leaks? It seems undesirable, unappealing, untenable. Unless the “leak” is lighting, as is the case at the Thaden School’s Bike Barn in Bentonville, AR, where the whole idea is to “let it flow.”  Used for bike storage, as a well as…

A converted Midwest department store gets a makeover—inside and out. By Michelle Zimmerman "A lot of care has to be taken when renovating a building as iconic and loved as the Dayton’s building,” says Paul Whitaker, principal lighting designer with Schuler Shook. Influential in the history of the indoor American mall and parent company to…

With light trespass pervasive, the unshielded version of this fixture stands out as the main culprit. It’s time for a manufacturing moratorium Recently I spent an invigorating evening on a lighting manufacturer’s roof deck in midtown Manhattan. As libations lubricated immersive conversation, we witnessed a Harvest Moon rise over the Empire State Building. The night…

Using nanoparticles that absorb, store and gradually release light, engineers at MIT have created a new generation of light-emitting plants that can be charged by an LED. After 10 seconds of charging, the plants glow for several minutes, producing light that is 10-times brighter than the first generation of glowing plants the group reported just…

When owner Brandon Hartmann decided to open a new cannabis dispensary in Cobourg, Canada, he wanted the shopping experience to feel organic, highlight local history, and show off, in his own words, “budding feel-good vibes in a feel-good town.” “We created this entire store in honor of Cobourg and there are a lot of cool…

After a busy day of shopping at the Hyundai Department Store Mokdong in Seoul, consumers are beckoned to the roof where they can rest under the “clouds.” These clouds, however, are really clusters of “biophilic fixtures” hovering above both humans and plants. The design by Casper Mueller Kneer Architects and Lichtvision Design leverages both natural…

The Lumen What it’s for, and what it’s not One can generally see fine with enough illuminance, which is the luminous flux (unit: lumen) per area. The unit of illuminance is lux if the area is measured in sq meters, and footcandles (fc) if sq ft are used. Setting aside other aspects of the lit environment…

The Grand Hyatt Kuwait is the brand’s debut property in that nation. The luxury hotel is connected to the 360 Mall, granting  guests access to multiple dining and retail venues,  as well as access to the new indoor Arena Kuwait, which seats 5,800 and overlooks the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy Kuwait. The interior design by…

Designers that have transitioned from careers in the theater to architectural lighting explain what it takes to make it in both arenas The lighting on the set for a Broadway musical is very different than that in an office building, right? Not quite, says five award-winning lighting designers who have worked on theatrical productions and…

References to Buddy Holly’s legacy are sprinkled throughout the new performing arts center named in his honor. With big dreams of becoming a rock-and-roll icon, Buddy Holly spent his teenage years in Lubbock, TX, strumming along to the tune of his now-famous lyrics, “that’ll be the day.” It’s safe to say that the late artist’s…

Some of Edinburgh’s most notable buildings and institutions—including the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and the Bank of Scotland and its museum (pictured)—are located on The Mound, an artificial slope in the center of the city. Today, remotely controlled color-changing floodlights (Color Kinetics/Pharos)—designed by LITE—create dynamic scenes on the exterior of the historic buildings, extending…

Renaissance art meets façade lighting at the MVM Dome in Budapest, where the exterior treatment references some of the masters’ classic work. Built just in time to host the European Men’s Handball Championship, the arena’s façade is inspired by classical art—including the anatomical drawings of Michelangelo, Leonardo and other artists of the era—and designed to…

Darkness for Ourselves What do we risk when we erase night from our lives? By Jane Slade   Each year, light advances further into the night. In early 2023, a shocking study revealed runaway light pollution across the globe. Based on the perspectives of over 50,000 human observers all over the world, the study reported…