Lam Partners | Architectural Lighting Design Lam Partners | Architectural Lighting Design
  • About
  • Expertise
  • Projects
  • Lam Labs
  • News
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • About
  • Expertise
  • Projects
  • Lam Labs
  • News
  • Careers
  • Contact

Boston City Hall Renovation

September 17, 2019 / no comments

Boston City Hall Exterior Renovation

Exterior | Civic
LOCATION: Boston, MA
COMPLETED: 2018
OWNERS: City of Boston
ARCHITECT: Utile, Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Anton Grassl

DESIGN TEAM:Keith Yancey
 Justin Brown
 Jack Risser

The lighting of the historic Boston City Hall has given new life to this landmark building. Lam Partners worked with the Boston Public Facilities Department and architectural firm Utile to highlight the Kallmann, McKinnell and Knowles building’s original design intent of civic aspiration and monumentality with lighting. LED technology was implemented throughout, providing color-changing flexibility while also helping to meet the city’s sustainability goals. The new scheme removes the unsightly flood lights that were added to the building over the years to make Boston City Hall a more vibrant, safe, and welcoming space at the city’s civic heart.

door2

July 21, 2020 / no comments

door2

Exterior | Cultural
LOCATION: Somerville, MA
COMPLETED: 2018
OWNERS: Port Lighting
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Justin Brown, Maggie Golden, Srushti Totadri, Dan Pham

DESIGN TEAM:Justin Brown
 Srushti Totadri
 Dan Pham
 Maura Clark

As part of the Somerville Arts Council “nightLIGHTS,” a series of light installations appearing throughout the city, Lam Partners created door², an immersive “door” experience that envelopes a warm inviting light to create the experience of home.

At Davis Square Plaza and the East Somerville Library a re-purposed, wooden front door stands alone in its frame. As passersby grow curious, they will find they can open the door partially and be immersed in the warm inviting light of “home”, while they are briefly silhouetted against the darkness of the evening.

Boston University Howard Thurman Center

June 10, 2020 / no comments

Boston University Howard Thurman Center

Academic | Cultural
LOCATION: Brookline, MA
COMPLETED: 2020
SIZE: 19,000 SF
OWNERS: Boston University/MGH
ARCHITECT: NBBJ
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Tracy Shankle

DESIGN TEAM:Justin Brown

The new home for Boston University’s Howard Thurman Center encompasses 19,000 SF and is a key student life hub at the center of campus. The new space supports existing programs, allows for expanded programming, and captures the energy of the people who make the center unique. The street-level space brings increased visibility to the Howard Thurman Center through a new building entry defined by the undercut corner of the building. Inside, a variety of meeting and event spaces, both formal and informal, provide the flexibility to support a variety of programs. Staff offices are dispersed throughout, allowing for increased student-staff interactions and visibility throughout the center. The meditation room allows for students to decompress and focus their attention in a quiet space. The whole design is grounded and centered on a community stair that connects the two levels and provides spaces for gathering, performing, and chance meetings.

Abiomed

October 29, 2019 / no comments

Abiomed

Corporate
LOCATION: Danvers, MA
COMPLETED: 2018
SIZE: 160,000 SF
OWNERS: Abiomed
ARCHITECT: Stantec Architecture
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Trent Bell Photography

DESIGN TEAM:Keith Yancey
 Justin Brown
 Maggie Golden

Healthcare technology firm Abiomed recently renovated its Danvers office to a state-of-the-art headquarters, showcasing its growing portfolio and market share in life-saving medical technology advancements. The facility accommodates hundreds of new employees and visitors, while creating enhanced work, research, training, and amenity spaces. A custom pendant in the shape of the Abiomed logo greets visitors in the reception area. Office lighting provides an ambient environment with y-shaped pendants scattered throughout work areas, while soft uplights and focused downlights are used in more informal lounge spaces and employee break areas. Landscape lighting also complements the new signature entrance and vehicular drop off area, with soft-lit bollards that create a dramatic but functional effect.

Envoy Hotel

October 2, 2019 / no comments

Envoy Hotel

Retail & Hospitality
LOCATION: Boston, MA
COMPLETED: 2015
SIZE: 98,500 SF
OWNERS: Marriott
ARCHITECT: Stantec Architecture; Group One Partners
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Warren Jagger

DESIGN TEAM:Glenn Heinmiller
 Justin Brown

Starting with its floor-to-ceiling lobby windows and rising to its 4,000-square-foot rooftop bar, the new 136-key Envoy Hotel—part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection—offers a deliberate effort to connect to its picturesque location on Boston Harbor. A mixture of bespoke lighting was used throughout the hotel and guestrooms to evoke conversation and to also reference the hotel’s emerging neighborhood, dubbed the “Innovation District.”

Proto Kendall Square

September 27, 2019 / no comments

Proto Kendall Square

Retail & Hospitality
LOCATION: Cambridge, MA
COMPLETED: 2019
SIZE: 200,000 SF
OWNERS: Boston Properties
ARCHITECT: FXCollaborative; Stantec Architecture

DESIGN TEAM:Justin Brown

Proto Kendall Square is a new, 200,000-square-foot, high-rise multifamily residential building in the up-and-coming technology hub of Cambridge. This development provides much-needed affordable housing for those employed in the area, while also providing a more active, pedestrian-friendly streetscape. A mix of decorative fixtures brightens the numerous common areas, while more traditional lighting is employed in the apartments, providing a nice luminous balance throughout the building.

Clarks USA Headquarters

March 22, 2019 / no comments

Clarks USA Headquarters

Corporate
LOCATION: Waltham, MA
COMPLETED: 2015
SIZE: 120,000 sq. ft.
OWNERS: Clarks Americas, Inc.
ARCHITECT: Stantec
PHOTOGRAPHER: © trentbellphotography

DESIGN TEAM:Keith Yancey
 Justin Brown

Clarks USA decided to move its North American headquarters in 2012 to the historic Polaroid building in Waltham, MA. “The Street”, a four-level glass entry atrium, offers a dramatic point of arrival and an homage to the Clark’s original location in Britain. In the center, collaboration is encouraged in a 2,500-square-foot, dividable showroom, which opens onto a large gathering area with video wall. The headquarters also includes a roof deck with outdoor meeting spaces and a patio off of the main café, while natural light is provided through four large skylights.

Garden of Peace

December 31, 2018 / no comments

Garden of Peace

Exterior
LOCATION: Boston, MA
COMPLETED: 2017
SIZE: n/a
OWNERS: Garden of Peace, Inc.
ARCHITECT: Incite Architecture
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Glenn Heinmiller

DESIGN TEAM:Justin Brown

Located near the historic State House in Boston, the Garden of Peace commemorates victims of homicide. It is a symbol of the hope for peace, and a reminder of the lasting impact of violent acts. The lighting for the memorial encourages quiet contemplation. The central focus of the memorial is a dry streambed, filled with smooth stones engraved with the victims’ names.  A trickle of water appears, moving through the garden, and finally flows into to a pool with a soaring sculpture, representing hope. Lam Partners facilitated upgrading and retrofitting the existing light fixtures to LED, and added new LED fixtures for future signage locations.

Baylor University Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation

September 19, 2017 / no comments

Baylor University Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation

Academic | Daylighting
LOCATION: Waco, Texas
COMPLETED: 2015
SIZE: 285,000 sq. ft.
OWNERS: Baylor University
ARCHITECT: Overland Partners | Architects
AWARDS: A|L Light and Architecture Awards - Best Use of Daylighting
CERTIFICATIONS: LEED Gold
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Paul Bardagjy

DESIGN TEAM:Paul Zaferiou
 Justin Brown
 Kera Lagios

The Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation building provides the thriving Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University with a leading edge facility, which reflects the school’s dedication to creating the next generation of world-class business leaders.

In a collaborative design process with both the architects and owners, aspects of Baylor’s neo-Georgian aesthetic were maintained with new materials and innovative building technologies, in order to demonstrate how rich tradition and contemporary design can come together to create an inspiring learning environment.

A major design challenge was developing a solution to provide as much access to natural light throughout the year as possible, without creating glare or thermal discomfort for the occupants. In particular, the 4-story central atrium was the first task, and initially envisioned by the architect to be capped with a standard north-facing saw-tooth, monitor-style roof. While this was effective, our design team lamented a missed opportunity to create a more dynamic environment within the bustling heart of the building. Employing sophisticated daylight analysis tools, our team quickly explored multiple options that controlled and redirected sunlight year round, before settling on a formula that offered the most promising results and ability to match the architectural vision.

Simultaneously, an interior aesthetic emerged, partly from the architect’s inspiration of the strong geometric works of Josef Albers, and from the University’s desire for a large, round auditorium space. The resultant round and linear language then began to inform lighting concepts throughout the project; the former for gathering spaces, and the latter for circulation.

Considering that the project was designed in mid-2013, the cost and efficacy of the now ubiquitous LED lighting were still at the point where fluorescent fixtures were deemed the better choice for the lensed linear recessed fixtures in the circulation spaces. With that said, the University was still very keen to explore LED technology in other areas of the project, which made sense in terms of access, maintenance, physical size, and aesthetics. This lead to the selection of a linear LED direct/indirect pendant family for all offices and classrooms, with form factor and design as a near-perfect compliment to the design of the building. The optical performance was also superior, compared to linear fluorescent technology — meaning that fixtures could be spaced farther apart and save a significant amount of energy. The resultant low LPD of .59W/sf, combined with a networked lighting control system and aggressive daylight harvesting thresholds, contributed to the LEED Gold rating.

The lighting of the exterior environment was as much about safety and navigation as it was about incorporating the contemporary interpretation of Baylor’s classical architecture into the campus masterplan. In addition to traditional framed windows, heavier masonry planes of the building’s facade appear to split and shift, thereby creating viewports that reveal the inner workings of the school.

With the exception of walkways, exterior stairs, entries, and signage, the façade was deliberately not lighted, in order to strengthen this contrast in the evening and emphasize the student activity within. Two matching cupolas, designed as a series of stacking horizontal plates, are illuminated to not only act as campus beacons, but also to display an architectural detail not easily observed during the day.

The new facility has been very well received by both students and faculty alike, both groups having commented on how the lighting contributes to spaces feeling bright and inviting, while also supporting the architect’s concepts for navigation and hierarchy of volume.

Arizona State University McCord Hall

July 31, 2015 / no comments

Arizona State University McCord Hall

Academic
LOCATION: Tempe, Arizona
COMPLETED: 2013
SIZE: 128,000 sq. ft.
OWNERS: Arizona State University
ARCHITECT: Kohn Pedersen Fox
PHOTOGRAPHER: © Douglas A. Salin

DESIGN TEAM:Keith Yancey
 Justin Brown

As a cornerstone of the University, McCord Hall frames the entrance to the eastern section of the business school district while creating an exciting new public hub for the student community.  Situated on the prominent Palm Walk, the building hinges around a massive 22’ diameter oculus which crowns a grand gateway to the plaza and academic buildings beyond.  Thick masonry walls scored with vertical windows feature splayed interior apertures to help control glare and redirect daylight for useful and dynamic illumination.  Classrooms, team rooms and lounges are connected by a series of exterior pathways to take advantage of daylight while encouraging a collaborative and energetic academic environment.

New Entries

© Copyright 2021 LAM PARTNERS INC | ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGN