lightfair international - Illuminating Engineering Society

LIGHTFAIR INTERNATIONAL
SEMINAR PREVIEW
(left) In the Madison Room, the primary sources of ambient light are uplighting on the ornate ceiling and backlighting on the sandblasted glass panels.
(right) Table lighting is enhanced by fixtures attached to banquettes arching over seated patrons.
of the space.
The third important element in the
lighting design relates to the viewer’s
ability to perform the task of the space.
Can the menu be easily read Can two
people at a table see each other’s expressions
easily Do the faces look good
Does the food look good Lighting must
facilitate and enhance the task.
In particular, much care should be
taken with dining table lighting. On
some projects, dedicated downlight
accents on the center of each table serve
to avoid harsh or unpleasant shadows on
the faces of patrons by bouncing a warm
glow off the table. Light pink or amber
dichroic color filters also help to give the
light a softer and more pleasing effect.
Many layers of lighting ideas and
approaches help make a restaurant successful.
Restaurant tables could be
downlighted with individual sources
from overhead. Decorative chandeliers
and internally lit architectural elements
might be used to provide a warm, ambient
glow. Accent lighting on architectural
details or decor provides visual interest,
while a single primary image or feature
might be brightly lit to provide a
central focus. The key is that no single
approach alone can be successful. A well
thought-out system of lighting solutions
should be combined to create a stunning
visual picture.
Oh What A Circus!
In Le Cirque 2000, interior designer
Adam Tihany’s central image for the
restaurant was “a new Ferrari set in the
middle of a beautiful Italian Palazzo.”
The challenge: To accent the surreal interior
and enhance the existing architecture.
Paul Gregory and Adam Tihany’s
solution: “Use the new architectural elements
as light sources to create highlights
and a lovely ambient glow without
altering the existing architecture.” The
result: People look wonderful in Le
Cirque, just as a diamond looks wonderful
on black velvet. Faces seem to sparkle
and the combination of old and new
architectural elements creates the background
to show them off.
The use of architectural elements as
light sources is seen throughout the
restaurant, beginning with the striking
entrance area. The brightly lit circus tent
structure hides 24 MR16 fixtures, which
illuminate both the tent and the mosaic
vaults at the entry. This creates a stunning
first look upon entering the space.
The Gold Room Bar features four
torcheres made from stainless steel and
white fabric; the internal illumination
spreads a warm, ambient light throughout
the room. Eleven different fixtures
are hidden in each torchere, including
four hidden in the top of each flame,
adding a color accent at the top of the
room and projecting light up onto the
decorative ceiling. The torcheres support
two ellipses of dimmable colored neon.
Suspended above this structure, an internally
illuminated clock slowly moves
from one corner of the room to the
other—patrons eat and mingle “as time
flies.”
There are five different effects involved
in the lighting of the bar itself. First, fiber
optic backlighting emanates from the
sandblasted glass panels from both the
bar front and the back bar wall area. The
use of crumpled gold foil behind the
glass gives sparkle and life to the front
glass at the base of the bar and the
patrons seated nearby. Next, the front
half of the glass bar top is uplighted with
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