Prize(s) Winners in Community Building Lighting
Lighting Design/Product Company SmithGroup
Lead Designers Luke Renwick
Other Designer's names Apoorva Jalindre, Maggie Hilgenkamp
Architecture Company SmithGroup
Interior Design Company SmithGroup
Client Metroparks Toledo
Photo Credits Justin Maconochie, Doug Hinebaugh
Completion Date Summer 2023
Project Location Toledo, Ohio
Entry DescriptionThis Metropark has transformed an inaccessible power plant site into a public park with an event lawn and Pavilion, Market Hall restaurant, ice and roller-skating ribbon, art installations, play areas, and connecting Riverwalk. With such varied programmatic and artistic elements, lighting design challenges are muti-faceted: provide stylistic building connections; create a signature riverwalk light pole identity; provide safety and visual comfort; accentuate glass-themed art; minimize wildlife effects. The Pavilion and Market Hall buildings are designed with tree-inspired concepts. The Pavilion visually emerges from the ground with wall washed concrete tree imprints and glowing glass tree-shaped fritting. The Market Hall mimics the Pavilion concrete wall accent and extends the concept into its wood canopy structure. Crystal-lensed lighting accentuates and sparkles within the canopy, like stars appearing through branches. Canopy illumination was a core design concept, accomplished by hidden curtainwall uplighting. The restaurant includes a custom wood screen element with continuous accent lighting. “The Ribbon,” attracts ice and roller skaters year-round. Pole mounted flood lights and festoon fixtures balance functional and decorative lighting needs. The "Beacon" art tower glows from within via structure mounted flood lights, activating etched glass panels.
Sustainability ApproachHome to a coal-fired power plant for nearly a century, much of the Glass City Metropark was covered in fly ash, requiring restoration on more than 50 acres before soils could support new buildings, site work and natural plantings. The revitalized Metropark will serve as a haven for migratory and nesting birds. Site lighting comprising of parking lot and feature riverwalk pole fixtures utilize full cutoff optics with minimum lumen outputs and collectively with building exteriors are a staggering 77% below IECC energy allowance. Pavilion and Market Hall connected wattages are 56% and 55% below allowance respectively. Park-wide timeclock control provides zoning of site lighting components for shutoff and curfew controls. A unique feature is preset overrides for bird migration scheduling that shuts off façade accent lighting.
