Beacon Park gave downtown Detroit a new gathering place on Grand River Avenue, with Lumen restaurant at its center. PBA provided engineering for both, and Illuminart, PBA's lighting design division, designed the lighting.
Lumen seats 125 inside, in a dining room wrapped in glass walls that slide open in warm weather to turn the space semi-outdoor. Another 150 seats spread across the green roof and surrounding sidewalks. In winter, the heated ground around the building melts snow and ice.
Across the park, lighting and landscape share a dense network. Hundreds of luminaires, power circuits, and data lines weave through more than 10,000 plants chosen to shift with the seasons. Layers of light for seating, trees, paths, and activities are each controllable through DMX, and the system responds to more than people: wind, temperature, and precipitation all shape how the park is lit. "Occupied" means more here than someone standing under a light.
Custom fixtures, controls, materials, and careful plant pairings strike a balance between technology and ecology.
