LEDs Transform Municipal Buildings

throughout the long lobby, from the sculptural ‘pixel-like’ Do Lo Res sofas configured into sectionals, to shades of red on the staircase accent wall. 515 North State was designed in the 1990s by Pritzker Prize–winning Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, who topped the build

Above. The street presence of 1 North Dearborn had been diminished in recent years by its neighbors. Beacon Capital Partners asked ESI Design to devise a design approach that would strengthen the building’s identity and curb appeal. Photo: Caleb Tkach

Below. The lobby of 1 North Dearborn, formerly the home of The Boston Store in the 1940s and Sears from 2001 to 2014, was upgraded along with the façade. Photo: Josh Pabst ing with a four-story “sky-window” that became a defining element on the Chicago skyline.

1 NORTH DEARBORN The centerpiece of the revived 1 North Dearborn facade is a largescale, infi nity-effect digital light-art installation that spans 72 ft. of street-level windows.

Built in 1905, 1 North Dearborn was the home of The Boston Store in the 1940s, and served as home to Sears’s flagship store from 2001 to 2014. The huge department store windows now glow with 52 different light animations, creating a striking impression and welcoming entrance.

To create a dynamic entry experience that makes the building stand out in the busy neighborhood, the nearly 30,000 LED lights are programmed in different modes to reflect the ebb and flow of activity in the building. In one of six animation modes, silhouettes in the shape of people pulse toward the entry. In the evening, the silhouettes appear to move away, following people as they depart. The window installation also acts as a clock, marking time on the hour with special lighting effects. A bold, red canopy, featuring a new 1 North Dearborn logo designed by ESI Design, frames and draws attention to the eye-catching windows.

“Playing off the building’s past as a bustling department store, we wanted to create a bright and illuminating entrance for 1 North Dearborn, turning the building into a focal point and creating an entry experience that wows,” explained Emily Webster, senior designer and AV technologist at ESI Design. “The interesting elements of this design are the lines of light and the infinite mirror effect. We created this endless look using LEDs and mirrored film with a gold tint. We then layered playful patterns and animations in a range of styles from subtle and ambient to more lively. They all work together to activate the façade of 1 North Dearborn and create visual interest.”

The updates at 515 North State and 1 North Dearborn are the latest in a series of innovative designs that ESI Design has created in Chicago for Beacon Capital Partners. Previous Chicago property renovations have included 180 North LaSalle, which uses 13 synchronized HD projectors to project content on its walls, and 300 South Wacker, which features a 40-story map of Chicago on the exterior wall that is now a must-see landmark on city architectural boat tours. CA

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515 North State

1 North Dearborn

LED lighting on the library building is a noticeable contrast in quality and color rendition when compared with the existing street lighting.

An extensive lighting upgrade for South Milwaukee public facilities demonstrates the benefits of LED technology.

Municipal buildings are an important part of the fabric of cities and towns. Municipalities throughout the country are upgrading to LED luminaires to promote efficiency, reduce waste, conserve resources, lessen overall environmental impact, and support the health and safety of employees and residents. About three years ago,

City of South Milwaukee Mayor Eric Brooks asked

Jim Shelenske, South Milwaukee city clerk, to head a citywide effort to convert the city’s municipal building lighting to LED technology.

Shelenske’s initial effort was to improve lighting in the city hall rear parking lot where police cars are parked in the open. The successful parking-lot project was followed by a recently completed conversion of all of the city’s municipal building lighting to LED fixtures. The upgrades included interior and exterior spaces at seven locations with energy-efficient replacements that are on track to deliver a return on investment in as little as 1 1/2 yr.

Facilities that received lighting upgrades include the city’s wastewater and water departments, city hall, a self-deposit station, public library, and fire and streets departments. Each location was thoroughly surveyed with South Milwaukee’s facility custodian, Jason Boswell, counting every lamp and fixture to assess the scope of the retrofit and define the lighting needs for each space. In thousands of one-for-one replacements, high-pressure-sodium, metal-halide, and fluorescent fixtures were replaced with LED lamps/luminaires. The streets department received the most LED interior and exterior replacements. Luminaires and LED technology, produced by Optec LED Light

ing, Ontario, CA (optecledlighting.com), were chosen for the various projects.

RETROFIT DETAILS The city’s water department retrofi t included 120- W Type III and Type V pole-mounted area fi xtures, 120-W Type III wall-mount area fi xtures, and 30-W Type III surface-mount wall-pack fi xtures. Retrofi ts to city hall, the self-deposit station, public library, and fi re and streets departments included 80-W Type III and 120-W Type V pole-mounted area fi xtures; 120- W Type III wall-mounted area fi xtures; 40-W Type V fl oodlight fi xtures; 120- and 160-W Type V highbay fi xtures; 40-W Type V parking-structure fi xtures; 20-, 30-, and 60-W Type III surface-mount wall-pack fi xtures; and 120-W Type V pendant-mount high-bay fi xtures.

The wastewater/water department retrofit resulted in a 50% energy reduction from the interior lighting upgrade and a 75% savings from the exterior lighting. The total LED retrofit included 20-, 30-, and 60-W Type III surface-mount wall-pack fixtures with button photocells; 60-W Type III surface-mount wall-pack fixtures; 60-W Type V high bay pendant fixtures; 60-W Type V low-profile, surface-mount canopy fixtures;

New LED fi xtures in municipal parking lots transformed those spaces in to well-lit and much safer places for employees.

120-W Type III square pole-mounted fixtures; and 120-W area luminaires.

LIGHTING FIRE TRUCKS The fi re department’s old lighting needed to warm up to achieve full brightness and required challenging bulb replacement at elevated heights. Both factors created safety concerns. As a result, lights were left on all night so that full illumination was always available, particularly when an emergency call was received. Fire Chief Joe Knitter was instrumental in moving the department’s retrofi t project forward, ensuring the new lighting matched or exceeded existing levels and that instant-on capability was inherent in

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LED fi xtures in the city’s street department facility eliminated the yellow cast from the old high-pressure-sodium lamps, making it safer and easier for workers to perform vehicle maintenance.

the system. Knitter immediately appreciated what improved light levels would mean for his staff when the previous, often burned out, compact-fl uorescent fi xtures were replaced with interior LED lamps and exterior LED luminaires.

The LED solutions deliver superior efficiency, longevity, and light output, and best of all, according to Knitter, the ability to safely back the department’s fire engines into the bays. In the fire department facility, where compact-fluorescent lights were previously left on 24/7/365, the return on investment from the LED retrofit is 1 1/2 years.

STREETS AND BOOKS The city’s street department facility was previously lit with high-pressure-sodium lamps that cast a yellow hue, making it impossible for employees to see intricate vehicle work, particularly while performing maintenance procedures under the truck hoods. The highly anticipated retrofi t included installation of LED lighting in the main parking lot, offi ces, sign shop, mechanics bay, employee locker rooms, Building Two (where vehicles are parked inside), salt shed, and the Building Four salt and storage shed. Street-department superintendent Dan Ratajski credited the LED lighting upgrade with improved safety and job performance— invaluable attributes for productivity.

The public library has also benefited from a lighting upgrade with a one-for-one replacement of the previous 14 metal-halide fixtures. The library’s eight, 75-W metal-halide flood lights in front of the building were replaced with 40-W LED luminaires.

The completed city-wide projects achieved consistently longer maintained light levels and significantly reduced costs in energy use and labor maintenance.

The benefits of improved light levels, lighting quality, and overall safer environments that have resulted from LED technology will benefit the City of South Milwaukee for years to come and likely in ways not yet realized.

CA

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EDITORS’ CHOICE

LED strip retrofits LED strip RetroFit line provides 4-ft. LED strips to upgrade linear fluorescent fixtures from 2 3/4- to 5-in. wide. Using existing building wiring and fixture base frame, the luminaires are available in 24- and 30-W versions that provide 3,120 and 3,900 lumens respectively, and can be single or continuous row mounted.

Litetronics, Bedford Park, IL Circle 64 litetronics.com

Wall sconce

Split Vortex:

Wall sconce Overlapping leaves of art glass ADA compliant; dimmable LED

The Split Vortex wall sconce provides dramatic form and line. Measuring 19-in. high and 6-in. wide, two curved, overlapping leaves of American art glass, cut on the bias, are fastened with stainless-steel screws. A wide palette of glass colors is available. The luminaire is UL certified and ADA compliant and uses a 10-W dimmable LED.

Derek Marshall Lighting, Sandwich, NH Circle 63 derekmarshall.com

Configurable pendants Stormbell LED configurable indoor pendants include two housing styles, several shade options, and optional light-control accessories. Available as a standard downlight pendant or with an illuminated band between the housing and shade, the luminaire uses a single CoB LED paired with reflective optics to provide medium or wide beam distribution.

Nordeon USA, Gaffney, SC Circle 66 nordeon-usa.com

Retrofit downlight Onyx series LED retrofit downlight has 4-, 5-, and 6-in. apertures with deep-set optics. Producing even illumination without the glare of an LED diode, all models have 90+ CRI. Available in adjustable, baffle, and reflector styles, the luminaires are dimmable.

Nora Lighting, Commerce, CA Circle 65 noralighting.com

Outdoor area light MPulse area light is available in a wide range of lumen packages and distribution types for a variety of outdoor lighting needs, including campuses and parking areas. In Type II, III, IV, and V distributions, output selections range from approximately 12,500 to 38,500 lumens.

MaxLite, West Caldwell, NJ Circle 67 maxlite.com

LED pendants Aramis G2 LED luminaires provide higher output and increased effi ciency as secondgeneration products. Available in six models with various lengths, light outputs, and diffusers or refl ectors, the products are designed for general illumination of indoor spaces. All can be pendant or surface mounted, and are available in a range of fi nishes.

Luminis, Montreal Circle 68 luminis.com

Patient-room luminaire NiteWay luminaire provides low-level illumination at the fl oor plane while minimizing glare that may impact patient vision. The optical design reduces lens brightness and eliminates fl ashes of light at lens transitions. An optional integrated photocontrol ensures night lighting is available when needed.

Hubbell Lighting, Greenville, SC Circle 69 hubbelllighting.com

Teardrop pendants

PD412 LED pendants comprise hand-blown, teardrop-shaped clear-glass shades with white drizzles that create visually interesting lighting effects. Each one-of-a-kind pendant suspends by a vintage-design black cloth-covered electrical cable. Pendants are 9 1/2 in.-high x 6-in. dia.

Jesco Lighting Group, Port Washington, NY Circle 70 jescolighting.com

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Linear Outdoor LED

• shortest distance color mix • smooth low trim dimming • fixture color clone accuracy • ESTA RDM & ACN compliant • 1 foot and 4 foot lengths • IP66/IP68 wet location

SSL ColourSelect Console available for simple setup with 64 programmable presets.

U.S. commercial lighting manufacturer •