2024 IES ILLUMINATION AWARDS - MERIT AWARD RECIPIENTS
CHILDREN'S NEBRASKA HUBBARD CENTER FOR CHILDREN
INTERIOR RENOVATION
Children’s Nebraska Hubbard Center for Children Interior Renovation
Designer: Lisa Lyons, Riley Johnson – HDR
Upon completing the new tower addition, the children’s hospital renovated 80,000 square feet of the existing facility. The challenge was to connect multiple existing buildings, joined by a common lobby, with reception, interfaith, and surgery waiting areas – while balancing new and existing interior palettes within existing constraints and budget. The lighting team solved these challenges by harmonizing architecture with perception, innovative controls and construction team collaboration.
The interior architecture conceptualizes shapes and colors, some of a child’s first understandings. The lighting design consistently reinforces these themes while welcoming occupants and guiding their experience. The reception lighting is a welcoming impression that engages warmer wood tones and colors. Its layered lighting approach consists of indirect lighting for an uplifting and calming effect with supplemental task lighting. The corridor’s color baffles are indirectly illuminated with flanking double light coves, creating uniform ambient light while highlighting the vibrant colors to aid in wayfinding.
The lighting controls expanded the overall campus-wide networked lighting system. Occupancy and schedule-based controls with local task override provide energy efficiency and automatic dimming setbacks to transition between day and night illuminance levels to reinforce ambience. The lighting power density was 30% better than the enforced energy code.
This renovation was part of an integrated project delivery (IPD) process that streamlined design and construction with real-time collaboration among the owner, designer, and construction team. Extensive above ceiling coordination with other trades navigated existing systems to maximize ceiling heights and coves. As budget was a concern, this innovative delivery saved 15% on lighting budget.
CHILDREN'S NEBRASKA SOLARIUM
Children’s Nebraska Solarium
Designers: Lisa Lyons, Riley Johnson, Eric Rushenberg – HDR
This multi-function space within a children’s hospital serves as a relaxing place of respite and a lively gathering space for events. This dichotomy posed a complex architectural and lighting design challenge, one solved by dynamic color, controls, and architectural integration.
Being a very tall space, an organic, multi-tiered ceiling system adds depth and visual interest to the space. Integrating multiple layers of light provides functional lighting and engages the architecture. Spotlights, in-grades, and flexible linear tape accent the column and planter structures while supporting simple visual tasks. Curved recessed linear lights follow the curves of the ceiling and provide higher levels of illumination when needed. Cove lights illuminate each transition between ceiling levels to create visual depth.
Options for both white and colored light were paramount to the space’s flexibility and owner’s branding. Due to budget constraints, the team selectively used color-changing RGB luminaires to provide the greatest visual impact without cost overruns. It was essential that all cove lighting have the same static white light, therefore, RGB lights were used in lieu of RGBW. As a result, a dual-cove system was designed on the bottom three tiers, using both RGB luminaires and 3000K white luminaires. On upper ceiling tiers, the cove lighting is 3000K white. Careful consideration was given to luminaires during design and throughout the submittal process to meet lighting power density requirements.
By programming scene and color settings with the client, the team created both respite and lively space functions. These settings are controlled from a wall-mounted touchscreen.
Color fades blend the color-changing and white lighting, transitioning each layer to a less-saturated color to blend and eventually to white lighting. The team also programmed multiple multi-color scenes for holidays, seasons, and branding opportunities. These color scenes correspond to scenes programmed on the exterior of the building.
COLUMBUS LIBRARY, CITY HALL & CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
Columbus Library, City Hall & Children’s Museum
Designers: Steve Gollehon, Toby Samuelson – Morrissey Engineering
The Columbus Community Building stands as a beacon of community connectivity, seamlessly housing the public library, city hall, and children’s museum. Located in rural Nebraska, this 78,000 ft2 facility reflects a visionary approach to municipal integration and is a testament to the city’s commitment to egalitarian services enriched by human connection.
The cantilevered architectural design and associated overhangs were conceptualized as a community “front porch”, symbolizing welcomeness and inclusivity. At night, lighting activates the façade to create a warm glow that encourages use and establishes a sense of safety. Overhangs are indirectly illuminated which maximizes visual comfort and minimizes light pollution. Hue, reflections, and shadow were crucial to the nighttime expression.
Several layers of light are concealed on rooftops and carefully integrated into the structure to preserve the architectural integrity. The design and construction teams worked closely to coordinate installation details with the curtainwall envelope and exposed steel structure so that all conduit is concealed from view.
Luminaires utilize LED sources for reduced energy consumption and are easily accessible for maintenance. Strict budget restrictions and energy code requirements were achieved. All lighting is zoned and controllable through a digital lighting control system with timeclock and dimming capabilities, allowing for light levels to be fine-tuned and automated. A digital dashboard allows the facilities staff to optimize energy saving strategies and easily manage schedules. Façade lighting is extinguished at a curfew to further reduce energy consumption and preserve the night sky.
The Columbus Community Building transcends its role as a physical structure; it is a manifestation of the city’s vision, offering elevated public services, fostering early literacy, stimulating economic development, and positioning itself as a magnet for new talent. This project stands as an example of innovative solutions, harmoniously integrating functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability for the betterment of the community.
KIEWIT LUMINARIUM EXTERIOR
Kiewit Luminarium Exterior
Designers: Rebecca Cherney, Jeff Thompson, Randy Niehaus – HDR
This science museum serves as a cornerstone piece of the larger riverfront revitalization effort in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The project is conceptualized as a “container” (resembling the metal machine sheds of the Midwest) filled with interactive exhibits that create a world-class experience for people of all ages and backgrounds.
The goal was to transform a building envelope, that appears unassuming from a distance, into a beacon that stimulates curiosity and draws in new visitors. Safety is a major concern as the facility is a key destination in the public park system. The team prioritized the values of environmental stewardship and energy management on behalf of the client.
The team leveraged parametric design software and physics simulations to design a double-skin façade system that optimizes interior daylight availability and integrates exterior luminaires into the building’s form. The team evaluated digital and physical half- and full-scale mockups to validate the system.
3,000 linear feet of low-wattage luminaires graze the primary façade in a cavity behind the secondary perforated metal panel skin. Completely hidden from view, the luminaires create a soft glow around the building with unique zone-control logic providing a uniform overall composition. This creates an awe-inspiring, yet safe and comfortable exterior environment and illuminates the adjacent riverfront boardwalk. Moreover, the façade panels are easily removable for future maintenance.
Only 18% of total lumens exit the façade cavity. This drastically limits potential light pollution in conjunction with astronomical time-clock programming that slowly dims throughout the evening, exceeding energy code compliance. The façade lighting is scheduled to be further reduced during seasonal bird migration periods.
Hidden interior luminaires accent and enhance interactive play structures and exhibits through windows facing public park amenities, enticing pedestrians as they walk by.
KIEWIT LUMINARIUM INTERIOR
Kiewit Luminarium Interior
Designers: Rebecca Cherney, Jeff Thompson, Randy Niehaus – HDR
This science museum serves as a cornerstone of a larger riverfront revitalization effort in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The project was conceptualized as a “container” (resembling the metal machine sheds of the Midwest) filled with interactive science exhibits that create a world-class museum experience for people of all ages and backgrounds.
The concept was to create a bright and welcoming ambiance through indirect daylight and transform the space in the evenings to create a dramatic, moody, and colorful experience.
The building envelope optimizes daylight availability and provides unobstructed views of the Missouri River and a popular pedestrian bridge. The team wrote a genetic algorithm script to generate the optimal shape, size, and angle of the fixed exterior sunshades, eliminating the need for roller shades while still mitigating glare during occupancy hours. This results in a bright, welcoming ambiance and reduces the electrical demand for general lighting in exhibit spaces by up to 80%.
Providing a flexible lighting system in the high-volume galleries proved a challenge and the lighting budget was modest. Over 500 linear feet of two-circuit track, arranged in rectangular patterns, suspends 18 feet from the ceiling, and provides maximum flexibility for exhibit-specific configurations while blending into the structure. Track heads, with multiple beam spreads and outputs, provide dramatic luminance ratios to enhance exhibit interaction.
At night and during special events, the space becomes saturated and enlivened with dynamic, color-changing features using a combination of architectural and high-end theatrical luminaires with moving heads.
The architectural and theatrical luminaires are controlled from a single intuitive interface using mobile and fixed-location control tablets. This control interface allows users to pick from preset scene functions, preset dynamic and color-changing features, and adjust specific zones of luminaires for the perfect experience at any time of day.