Prize(s) Winners in Workplace Lighting Design
Company HLB Lighting Design
Lead Designers Brandon Thrasher
Other Designer's names Vasudha Rathi, Venna Resurreccion, Prianka Giridharadas, Abraham Benguigui
Client NVIDIA
Photo Credits Jason O’Rear
Other Credits Gensler; Hood Design Studios; Devcon; Taylor Engineering; Redwood Electric Group; Atelier Ten; DES
Completion Date December 2021
Project Location Santa Clara, CA, USA
Entry DescriptionAs the second phase of NVIDIA’s headquarters, the Voyager building reimagines the corporate environment with a wellness-focused approach, creating seamless indoor-outdoor connections and hospitality-like spaces. The building’s large architectural volume, with ceilings rising 70 feet, offers an open-plan environment in need of a compelling lighting strategy that infuses a sense of human scale within the largescale environment.
The color temperature of luminaires was selected to enhance each space’s function and materiality. Work areas were illuminated with 4000K cool color temperature to reinforce the already daylit spaces. Within this environment, indirect glare-free lighting systems with diffused light and illuminated biophilia coalesce to bring the outdoors inside. In collaboration areas, light sources with 3000K color temperature and decorative fixtures evoke a hospitable ambiance. As a result, lighting cultivates an aura of movement as occupants venture throughout the building.
To reinforce durability and functionality, sensor-based LED lighting technology was thoughtfully integrated throughout the project. This technique, coupled with limiting the range of fixtures, ensures long-term ease of maintenance.
The holistic lighting approach reimagines the workplace experience from the inside out, placing occupants at the heart of the design.
Sustainability ApproachThe lighting designers worked with the project team to balance electric lighting solutions with natural light to create a luminous, airy environment while exceeding sustainability goals. Strategically placed indirect uplights harmonize with the natural light filtered in through skylights, and vertical surface lighting offset occupants’ view of the exteriors and daylight. The controls system optimizes daylight harvesting while balancing luminance ratios, creating visual harmony with diffused electric light.
The uplights feature a custom mounting that integrates six luminaires in a ring pattern and seamlessly mounts to columns, concealing the lighting system while providing a comfortable indirect illumination. Natural light is the main source of light during the day, resulting in LEED Gold certification and lighting energy savings of 40% below California Title 24 requirements.
