Monday, November 22, 2010

IBE Lighting Marries the Art and Science of Lighting Design

IBE Consulting Engineers in Los Angeles, CA announces the launch of IBE Lighting, a new in-house department that offers comprehensive interior and exterior lighting design services from earliest concept development through installation. Seeking a balance of utility, sustainability, and aesthetics, IBE Lighting develops designs that integrate lighting into a project’s architecture and complements the surrounding landscape. For each project, IBE Lighting’s work is supported by the team’s knowledge of architectural planning and building systems engineering, boosting the functionality of the lighting design program.

IBE Lighting is overseen by lighting designers Hank Dahl and Stephen Bakin, whose combined expertise represents more than 50 years experience in architectural lighting design. They share a commitment to devising illumination and lighting control schemes that are as high-performance and energy-conscious as they are visually and environmentally pleasing to building architects, designers, owners, operators, and users.

While operating independently, IBE Lighting can draw on the resources and talents of IBE Consulting Engineers’ MEP engineers, LEED Accredited Professionals, and technology experts. Such integrated teamwork allows Dahl and Bakin to troubleshoot and resolve potential challenges more quickly and efficiently than a traditional lighting designer might, maximizing a scheme’s viability and sustainability. “It also frees us to dedicate more time to the creative aspects of identifying innovative solutions best suited to each particular built environment,” says Dahl, “and to seamlessly follow through to ensure they are installed as intended.” A senior associate at IBE Consulting Engineers, Dahl also has expertise in designing custom lighting fixtures and day-lighting analysis. He has been involved in lighting and schemes for large-scale projects including medical research facilities, academic buildings, entertainment complexes, and museums.

One such project includes designing a range of advanced lighting solutions for the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ new Steven Spielberg/George Lucas Building in Los Angeles, CA. Facilities in the 200,000-square-foot complex include showpiece lobbies, administrative offices, theaters, classrooms, editing rooms, soundstages, and other production and technical rooms. For the project, Dahl also designed custom pendant and wall-mounted exterior and interior fixtures that met the architect’s (Urban Design Group) desire for period-sensitive Mission-style lighting, satisfied the University’s requirement that they be easily maintained, and exceeded the State of California’s energy code.

Bakin’s passion for the creative side of lighting design is bolstered by his background in electrical systems engineering. He has worked on building typologies including museums, performing arts centers, convention centers, libraries, and historical structures. “Effective lighting has the ability to enhance a space, and define the experience of being in it,” says Bakin. “Our challenge is to elevate users’ perceptions of an environment through lighting, while assuring that the system’s overall performance and sustainability are optimized.”

Ongoing and on-the-boards projects for IBE Lighting include a new laboratory building for Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UCSD in San Diego (THA Architecture); a business and technology education center for College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA (Steinberg Architects); Golden West Community College Learning Resource Center in Huntington Beach, CA (Steinberg Architects). Another in-progress endeavor is the upgrade and redesign of more than 400 Big Blue Bus stops for the City of Santa Monica (Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects), employing solar-powered canopies and LED lighting.

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