The Lighting Practice is proud to announce that three of the firm’s projects received 2017 AIA Design Awards. AIA Philadelphia honored the Milton & Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center, the Perelman Auditorium, and the Moelis Family Grand Reading Room.
MGA Partners won the Devine Detail award for the Maltz Performing Arts Center at Case Western Reserve University. TLP worked with MGA partners to design the lighting system for the 92-year-old synagogue reimagined into a multidisciplinary center. Al Borden, Emad Hasan, and David Seok integrated architectural lighting and controls into the building while respecting its historic nature. TLP accented the architectural interior and exterior features using dimmable white LED lighting. The project’s centerpiece was the conversion of the synagogue’s main sanctuary into a concert hall, which included the conversion of the historic luminaires to LED sources.
MGA Partners also took home the Merit Award in the Built-Interiors category for the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Perelman Auditorium. The design team converted the interior space of an old gallery into the auditorium, adding tiered seating and a stage and opening previously closed windows. The space is now used for presentations, meetings, performances, roundtable discussions, and other events. Al Borden, Emad Hasan, and Jessica Wickes were tasked with providing house and theatrical lighting and designing a theatrical control system. To minimize penetrations into the ceiling, TLP reused the existing recessed gallery track system for the house lighting and installed new LED cylinder trackheads throughout. The theatrical lighting is a tunable white and color changing, which provides the Philadelphia Museum of Art with flexibility for various events and video recording.
Gensler received the Merit Award in the Built-Interiors category for the Grand Reading Room. Located inside the University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, the Reading Room utilizes a 3500K LED lighting system to maintain consistent light levels throughout the day. A hidden line of linear LED grazers highlights the focal point of the room: an intricate wool and silk mural by artist Claudy Jongstra. Subtly placed fixtures create a continuous line of light to illuminate the mural’s details and natural materials. Michael Barber, Ryan Conover, and John Conley carefully arranged the fixtures for a starry night effect that further complements the mural. Pendant-mounted LED downlights provide ambient light throughout the room. Customized, adjustable table lamps allow users to change the angle of light by tilting the lamp, while the output is linked to the lighting control system.
The Lighting Practice is proud to have been a part of the design team for these three award-winning projects. We thank AIA Philadelphia for this exceptional honor. Congratulations to all the 2017 winners!
