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Just as electric and natural light is layered and balanced throughout the building, so too are the types of reading and work areas. The open reading rooms and atrium perimeter use thin linear T5 pendant fixtures, sometimes in rectangular patterns, other times in lines, to uplight the ceiling. Depending on the location, they are lensed, UV-lensed or open top.
To minimize visual clutter, the lighting designers devised custom T-shaped brackets fitted with T5 fluorescents and mounted them atop every other book stack to provide diffused downlight illumination along the circulation paths between stacks. Controlled by occupancy sensors, the fixtures are ultra-efficient.
In the area of the library dedicated to teenagers, T2 lamps integrated in the millwork of an undulating red wall unit accent its curving shape. MR16s punch focused light onto the tables and colored bulbs in the pendants introduce an element of surprise.
Surface-mounted T5s in playful radial patterns on the ceilings of the children's section of the library, add interest and ambient illumination.
Rectangular indirect linear pendants containing T5 fluorescents and fitted with asymmetric reflectors and frosted lenses illuminate the ceilings of each floor. Linear fluorescents hidden along the front edge of low stacks wash the books with a minimum of 20 footcandles of light. Small LED strips highlight the edges of the wood frame of the staircase.
LED strips nestled into the branches of the abstract tree forms are programmed to provide changing kaleidoscopic color.
The centerpiece of the library is a 5-story atrium topped with a 60-foot-long zinc canopy, which allows an abundance of natural light into the building.
