Prize(s) Winners in Visitor Experience & Museum Exhibition
Lighting Design/Product Company HLB Lighting Design
Lead Designers Tina Aghassian
Other Designer's names Azusa Yabe, Karen Park
Architecture Company Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign
Client Simon Wiesenthal Center
Photo Credits Benny Chan
Other Credits Unified Field, Electrosonic
Completion Date May 2021
Project Location Los Angeles, CA
Entry DescriptionThe Museum of Tolerance Social Lab was created to promote a sense of unity in an increasingly diverse society, providing an immersive and interactive space for visitors to confront difficult social issues. A balanced lighting approach was necessary to promote compositional harmony in the exhibit, setting the tone while keeping the focus on the AV content, and tying together 15 distinct exhibits while catering to their individual lighting needs.
From project onset, the lighting design team participated in coordination and material selection meetings that culminated in the concept of color-changing lighting with a translucent metal coil “veil” that acts as a cohesive partition element to define exhibition spaces and a display surface to project AV content. Integration with other elements in the exhibit was of critical importance, requiring close collaboration to achieve successful lighting details within a tight 18-month schedule.
DMX-controlled RGBW color-changing fixtures and theatrical fixtures with gobos and optic accessories are coordinated with the AV projections to enable synchronized experiences at strategic locations and create depth in the space through projection patterns on walking surfaces. This intersection of light, architectural materials, and media drives an immersive and deeply compelling experience designed to illuminate the human condition.
Sustainability ApproachThe project meets the strict California T24 energy code requirements for lighting and controls including dimming of lighting, zoning of lighting, and nightlight strategies to reduce energy consumption while keeping the intent of the integration of lighting with AV controls and the project narrative.
