Engaging exterior illumination for San Antonio’s City Hall San Antonio's City Hall is one of the longest continuously operating municipal facilities in the country. Initially constructed in 1892, it has been renovated - repeatedly - over its lifetime. The most significant work took place in 1927, when the building was altered with elements of the popular Spanish revival style. The City brought in architects Ford, Powell & Carson (FPC) to undergo a massive restoration project, both indoors and out. Interior work was extensive, featuring a more organized floor plan, improved accessibility, and the uncovering of original 1927 ornate plaster ceilings and moldings. On the exterior, the limestone and cast stone cladding were restored along with the historic windows. City Hall is located in a unique spot: it sits in the center of the historic Military Plaza and can be viewed in the round. While the original exterior illumination consisted of some general area lighting, the project team saw the opportunity to use dedicated facade lighting to showcase the stunning historical building. Hydrel’s 4750L RGBW linear floodlights were selected. “Overall, we were looking to highlight the entire facade in a wash of light,” said Allison Chambers, principal and preservation specialist at FPC. “And we wanted luminaires that changed colors, so the City could light up the building to promote various events, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, San Antonio’s annual Fiesta celebration, or even a Spurs victory.” Nine sets of 3 linear floodlights are placed strategically around the perimeter of the building. Ground-mounted, the 4-foot lengths are arranged together in a tiered formation. Each cluster consists of a wall wash, aimed at the bottom of the building, a wide flood aimed at the middle, and a very narrow spotlight aimed at the top. Together, they provide even illumination to the full four-floor height and perimeter of the building. One of the challenges of getting the lighting right was a “moat” type space that surrounds the building. Intended to allow natural light into the basement windows, the team had to consider this as they positioned each luminaire cluster. The luminaires offer a full range of RGBW colors as well as static white, at a 4000K color temperature. And because the 4750L integrates with DMX controls, it provides precise and flexible lighting management. City Hall staff can easily manipulate the controls to create the desired colors. City Hall’s dynamic and colorful illumination has made it a much more active space at night. “What color is City Hall tonight?” said Chambers. “The community is engaged! The lighting really draws people in and encourages them to come by and check it out. It’s been a very positive addition to the downtown’s west side.” Project Completion: 2021 Architect: Ford, Powell & Carson​ Landscape Architect: Rialto Studio Landscape Architecture​ Agent: Spectrum Lighting​ Photography: Brian Vogles Photography

Enhancing Art & Life With Light When the owner of a Spanish-Colonial traditional interior style home in North Scottsdale wanted to enhance with light both artwork and a collage of his wife's modelling for magazine covers, he approached Lightform Lighting’s Chad Rothe for some ideas. With five art areas needing to be lit, some very wide, many of the lights they found weren’t long enough. Rothe explains, "There's multiple ways to light artwork, we could have done a recessed can, model points coming off the wall, but I wanted the language to speak uniformly. With his wife’s pictures, there are so many that with a track, you're not just going to pin spot one or two of them. So I asked if he was okay grazing the whole collage with light, and he agreed. I entertained the idea of doing recessed cans elsewhere, but we decided to stay consistent and light all the artwork the same" Rothe chose PureEdge Lighting's Kurve Display Sign which features a Lambertian white diffuser that provides uniform light without hotspots. At 7.5 watts per foot, the 24 volt DC channel contains 85+ or 95+ CRI LEDs and mounts 14 inches from wall. It may be ordered with a 4.6 inch round canopy that fits on a standard junction box or a 2" feed through stem with round plaster ring. Hinges on the fixture arm rotates up to 90 degrees (from facing the wall to straight down). Kurve Display Sign is powered by a Class 2 remote power supply up to 40 feet away. Available from 12 inches to 120 inches/10 feet. May be ordered in 3, 5, 8 or 10 inch increments. Available in multiple color temperatures, as well as Satin Black and Satin Nickel finishes. Rothe continues, "We were okay seeing all of the pieces not perfectly spotlit, but rather generally illuminated, and that’s what we did, and the client loved it. The inspiration to use this fixture was 100% flexibility and customizability giving me the lengths that I need to utilize one continuous fixture. With other manufacturers I'd have to do multiple picture lengths. I also like that I can have different finishes, Kelvin temperatures, different offsets to accommodate picture frame depths, and the adjustable angle of the head." Rothe concludes, "PureEdge has incredible customer support. I can call and say I've got a custom need, color temperature, finish, how I want the mounting hardware, and then they provide drawings with the quote giving me the information I need to tell the subcontractor where to put wires. The product offering is unsurpassed to any of the competitors. It's a really fun line to specify from being a lighting designer. You can just open up Pandora's box and touch on multiple options on multiple fixture families. They nailed it." Lighting Systems: PureEdge Lighting Kurve Display Sign Specification Sales: Lightform Lighting Lighting Designer: Chad Rothe

Where Heritage Meets the Afterlight At Mount Wollaston Cemetery, a historic landmark in Quincy, Massachusetts, light becomes a storyteller. Designed by Holmes & Edwards Architecture in partnership with Boston Light Source, the new illumination honours the site's heritage while revealing its quiet beauty after dusk. Using Lumenpulse Lumenbeam and Lumenfacade Inground luminaires, intricate ironwork and timeless stone monuments emerge from the night in soft golden tones. Each fixture was selected for its precision optics and durability—delivering consistent, elegant light through New England's changing seasons. The result is a thoughtful balance of history and innovation: pathways and façades glow with renewed life, transforming the cemetery into a luminous symbol of memory and respect. Market: Arts + Culture, Institutions + Workplaces, Office Space Architect: Holmes & Edwards Architecture Lighting Consultants: Boston Light Source Photographer: Alyssa Deree Photography

A New Language of Light: Reimagining Architectural Integration and Performance