Just inside the Indiana border along I-70, the Clear Creek Welcome Center reimagines the highway rest stop as a true place of arrival. Conceived as a symbolic front door to the state, the $54 million INDOT project celebrates Indiana’s deep connection to motorsports and the Indianapolis 500, transforming a brief pause along the road into a memorable civic experience rooted in pride, storytelling, and place. Designed by Indianapolis-based Synthesis Incorporated, the architecture translates speed, motion, and racing heritage into built form. Alternating angled glass planes and exposed metal brackets arranged in decreasing size create a forced perspective that evokes the sensation of an IndyCar racing past at full throttle. Layered materials and graphic cues, including an abstracted checkered-flag motif and color-shifting dichroic glass, extend that narrative, immersing visitors in the sights and emotions of race day. For RATIO Design, the landscape architecture played an equally critical role in expanding the Welcome Center beyond a building into a destination. “From the beginning, the goal was to move past the idea of a purely interior experience. The site gave us a much larger canvas—one where we could tell the story of Indiana motorsports through movement, procession, and outdoor engagement.” — Keith Sattler, PLA, Associate Landscape Architect at RATIO Design. Plazas, promenades, play areas, and interpretive elements were carefully orchestrated to encourage visitors to linger, explore, and re-engage before returning to the road—an approach that supports both safety and placemaking. “The more time people spend outside the car, the safer and more meaningful the stop becomes,” Sattler notes. “It wakes people up, gets families moving, and turns a utilitarian pause into something experiential.” ESL Spectrum’s lighting strategy was integral to that expanded vision, focusing on pedestrian comfort, clarity, and identity across the site. Typology ring lights by Landscape Forms were selected as the primary pedestrian fixture, providing both high-performance illumination and a distinctive visual language that reinforces the motorsports theme. “The Typology ring was an immediate fit,” says Yuting Yau, LC, Lighting Applications & Design at ESL Spectrum. “Its circular geometry and layered light distribution subtly echo ideas of motion and rhythm, while delivering excellent uniformity and coverage.” From the landscape architect’s perspective, the fixtures quickly evolved from a lighting solution into a defining site element. “As soon as this project started, Typology was the light we wanted to use,” Sattler adds. “It’s automotive, it’s dynamic, and it feels purpose-built for a racing-themed landscape with its connection to BMW Group Designworks. Once the photometrics came in and we saw how the rings would repeat and populate the site, they became much more than background infrastructure—they became part of the identity.” Because Typology emits light in 360 degrees from multiple luminaires, ESL Spectrum achieved consistent illumination with fewer poles, supporting a clean site layout and minimizing visual clutter. Mounted on slender masts, the fixtures read as sculptural markers by day and luminous beacons by night, clearly guiding visitors through plazas, roundabouts, and pathways. “One of the biggest departures from typical INDOT projects was lighting continuity,” Sattler explains. “Once vehicles and trucks separate, the public realm is entirely defined by Typology. From the roundabout through the pedestrian areas, it creates a cohesive, designed experience rather than a patchwork of standard highway fixtures.” Adaptable by design, Typology ring lights offered multiple distribution options and mounting heights, allowing the team to fine-tune performance without custom fabrication—an important consideration for a large, publicly funded project. Yau also cites Landscape Forms’ manufacturing rigor as a key factor in the specification. “Seeing the production process firsthand reinforced the care that goes into durability, testing, and quality control. It gives us confidence in long-term performance.”— Yuting Yau, LC, Lighting Applications & Design at ESL Spectrum. At Clear Creek, Typology ring lights do more than illuminate paths, plazas, and parking areas. They act as visual anchors—guiding movement intuitively, reinforcing the site’s narrative, and helping transform a routine roadside stop into a distinctive destination and lasting first impression of Indiana. Landscape Forms Elements: Typology Ring Lights Design Partners: Synthesis Incorporated, RATIO Design, ESL Spectrum Photography: Matt Scott Media

Sustainable urban development starts with streetlight transformation in Val-d’Or The City of Val-d'Or, in the heart of Quebec’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, undertook a major streetlight revitalization project on 7th Street, a principal north-south artery. By updating public lighting, it would improve energy efficiency, give this iconic area a contemporary look, and preserve its urban identity. Old streetlights on 7th Street had been part of the landscape for several decades. Although much loved, they had reached the end of their useful life. Spare parts were no longer available, the lights consumed excessive electricity and caused significant light pollution. The City, therefore, wanted to install efficient, sustainable lighting that would ensure public safety while reducing its environmental footprint. To bring this vision to life, the City chose Cyclone’s Mochi luminaires, renowned for their aesthetic and functional design. Their curved shape, inspired by nature, subtly recalls the shape of the previous globes, paying tribute to the street's history while adding a modern touch. Luminaires are installed on 18-foot poles; each Mochi is mounted on a short, straight arm, positioned one foot below the top of the pole, to create a distinctive visual configuration. A contemporary-style base cover was also chosen, its rounded shape complements the luminaire’s soft edges. The entire configuration is finished in Basalt Gray, blending harmoniously and naturally with the street’s landscape. Phase One of the project involved installing approximately 50 luminaires. Phase Two will include 100 more. All new fixtures are mounted on existing concrete bases and conduits, thereby optimizing resources and reducing costs and infrastructure impact. To manage illumination, the City chose the T3M optical lens developed by Cyclone. This lens ensures precise distribution of light on the roadway, maintains a constant light level, and eliminates upward light spill. Above all, it allowed the City to work with the existing bases and spacing. The T3M provides sufficiently wide lateral coverage to avoid creating dark areas between luminaires, while benefiting from the performance and efficiency of current LED technologies. It also improves visual comfort by reducing glare and incorporates a house shield to limit the light spill towards neighboring residences. Designed to meet the latest energy efficiency standards, Mochi luminaires stand out for their soft, refined silhouette, which adds a contemporary touch without detracting from the unique character of the city center. Mochi will also stand the test of time. These luminaires combine elegance with reliability – and easy maintenance. Access to the light's interior is tool-free thanks to a discreetly integrated button. And the absence of visible hardware ensures a neat and refined finish. During the day, Mochi’s rounded shape and understated finish blend harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. At night, Mochi reveals its full beauty, creating a warm and reassuring atmosphere. With this choice, the City has been able to combine sustainability, aesthetic consistency, and respect for local heritage. The lighting transformation of 7th Street reaffirms the City of Val-d’Or’s commitment to more sustainable, economical, and harmonious urban development. Project completion: Phase 1 completed/Phase 2 coming soon Products: Mochi — Cyclone Photographer: DFA Photographe

Libraries are famously known as places for quiet, and these large area suspended SkySpan systems make a significant contribution to noise reduction while providing natural feeling light that is comfortable and shadowless, allowing patrons to read even the smallest print from any angle. In addition to circles, the library also features a unique “merged circles” shape (not shown) made possible by taking advantage of SkySpan’s design flexibility. ARCHITECT: SmithGroup LUMINOUS SURFACE AREA: 6 SkySpan Suspended systems 3 @ 10’ dia (3.0m dia) 1 @ 13’ dia (4.0m dia) 1 @ 15.5’ dia (4.7m dia) 1 @ 21’ x 15’ (6.5m x 4.5m) – irregular shape COLOR TEMPERATURE: 3000K CRI ≥90 Photography Credits: Kyle Jeffers (Kyle Jeffers Photography)

Speak, Evolved: Fluxwerx Unveils Expanded Pendant and Surface Options Across the Luminaire Family