Prize(s) Winners in Healthcare Lighting Design
Lighting Design/Product Company Essential Light Design Studio, LLC
Lead Designers Jill Klores
Other Designer's names Diana Nino, Andy Keller
Architecture Company Keller Studio
Client Cook Children's Medical Center
Photo Credits Roy Aguilar & Alyssa Stewart
Completion Date 4/2024
Project Location Fort Worth, TX
Entry DescriptionA hospital visit for a child is often an experience marked by anxiety, fear, and a sense of helplessness. While many children’s hospitals incorporate playful design elements to ease these emotions, such attention rarely extends to the parking garage. For this project, the client sought to evoke a sense of wonder and excitement from the moment the young patient, ensuring their experience began on a positive note. By immersing visitors in a gently shifting wash of colors, the design redirects the child's focus to the vibrant hues and movement, fostering the hope that this will be a fun and uplifting experience.
The original concept envisioned longer, undulating panels; however, value engineering led to a refined arc shape that conveys an implied “hug.” Initially conceived with color-changing pixels within each panel, the final design uses each panel as a single pixel—simplifying installation while achieving visual impact and reducing fixture and controls costs.
Detailed calculations were performed to ensure proper functional lighting below, and so that the adjacent UFO-style garage lighters would not wash out the color saturation of the panels. The client is delighted with this cost-effective solution, which successfully achieves the desired immersive effect. Even the Google directions link for this location indicates “ My kids love the lights on the bottom level.”
Sustainability ApproachAcrylic panels are made with recycled content, controls reduce power consumption when no occupancy is sensed, and lighting levels are lower than typical in this location to achieve the desired effect.
