Located on a prominent corner in Atlanta, this tower is a monumental glass volume chiseled on the diagonal to create a bold V-shaped form that reveals the inner volume and a translucent, triangular crown.
Positioned between the tower and the parking garage, a large open canopy serves as both a covered entrance to the lobby and an exterior space for events.
The canopy consists of folded solid metal and fritted glass panels, uplit with 150W T6 3000K metal halide fixtures located along the sides. Based on a detailed reflection study, the lighting designers determined that point sources would minimize the visibility of the fixtures reflected on the glass ceiling panels.
100W PAR38 3000K metal halide surface-mounted downlights integrated into architectural slots in the V-shaped ceiling panels illuminates the floor.
The V-shaped ceiling panels carry into the lobby illuminating the interior surfaces.
The entrance, with its welcoming bright awning, enlivens the streetscape and guides visitors to the off-street entrance. Its triangular form alludes to the top of the building. At night, the architect's intention was for the building to read as a coherent form and not a disembodied illuminated crown.
The building is sliced off to reveal an inner tower that protrudes through the cut. To highlight this effect, the lighting designers only illuminated the surface of the slice itself-the large sloping plane that transition to lines of glass framing the inner core structure. Illumination of the top floor of the protruding tower core with 3000K fluorescents heightens the effect of the volume pushing through the slice. A warmer color consistency is maintained throughout.
At the narrow windows inside the offices that surround the protruding core, 3000K LED narrow beam wall grazers illuminate the translucent fritted glass from within.
Inside the top, a set of three, 400W metal halide fixtures with 3000K Chromafit lamps have varying beams (vertical flood, horizontal spot, and narrow spot) to evenly light the 110 foot sloped surfaces. The fixtures are positioned to carefully minimize shadowing from the structure. Fixtures mounted just 8 feet from the floor illuminate the vast expanse of the surfaces.
The simplicity of the nighttime effect belies the substantial technical hurdles encountered. By carefully coordinating different sources and wattages appropriate for each architectural space, the lighting design accommodates the change in scale and material from one glass surface to another. The successful rendering of the building top, along with themes first experienced at the base, creates a seamless final composition.
