Detroit, MI
The First National Building is the oldest building in the heart of Detroit’s Central Business District bounding Cadillac Square and Campus Martius Park and its renovation was a major part of Detroit’s revitalization. The 25-story historic Art Deco-era building that had fallen into disrepair, now had a new role in attracting high-tech corporations to the ever-growing epicenter of Detroit’s newly revitalized business district.
With innovation in mind, the client approached the design team with the challenge of creating a unique and vibrant look for the First National Building’s Lobby, while still maintaining and enhancing its existing historic attributes.
Once the original ceiling was exposed, the design team came up with both a visually stimulating and highly economical lighting solution that used a 3D curvilinear acrylic form protruding from the original tiles to guide pedestrians throughout the lobby to a mass of informational programs projected on a wall of embedded flat screen TV’s. Instead of choosing a less economical fixture solution such as a continuous LED product, PBA lighting designers incorporated linear LED’s on mini spacers above the acrylic form both vertically and horizontally.
The resulting vibrant and inviting lobby space continues to attract visitors from in and around the city and serves as a design inspiration for the ever-blossoming Campus Martius business district.
In addition, the renovated lobby lighting design earned a distinguished Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award and a Special Citation for Innovative Use of Acrylics in Lighting for the Interior Lighting Design of Detroit’s historic First National Building.
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