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Pasadena City Hall Historic Renovation

Pasadena, California

This 1927 landmark is a vital part of Pasadena's rich architectural heritage.  HLB was responsible for designing state-of-the-art lighting systems for public and tenant interiors, exterior façade, and site lighting.  Historic fixtures were restored and refurbished.  New systems made use of modern energy-efficient lamp, fixture and ballast technologies for excellent optical performance, long lamp life and ease of maintainability.  Services included on-site exterior mock-ups and preparation of historic lamp refurbishment specifications.

To emphasize the hierarchy of various surfaces and forms, soft lighting techniques are combined with accent lighting techniques.  Warm 3000 Kelvin metal halide and fluorescent sources were used throughout for cohesive rendering of the facade while a second color temperature was used for the dome to intentionally differentiate these two distinct materials.  Linear T8 fixtures, utilizing low ballast factor electronic ballasts, provide visual balance between the upper balcony fluorescent illumination and the lower facade metal halide illumination.  Upon entry, internally louvered, low glare in-grade ceramic metal halide fixtures graze columns for texture while energy efficient fluorescent uplights articulate the inner vaulted ceiling.

Throughout, fixtures are mounted in serviceable locations, painted to match the building, and use controlled and shielded sources to minimize glare and spill light.  The value- engineering process included a variety of on-site mockups to ensure design integrity and also successfully addressed all future maintenance concerns by the city.  After many challenges, this renovated landmark remains the city's inspiration for beauty and strength.

The project's lighting design has been recognized with an IES/IIDA Award of Excellence and has received the US Green Building Council's Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.