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The lighted glass block wayfinder system also was incorporated
into other areas within the parking garage. The parking lot
elevators are encased within lighted glass block. The surrounding
glass block section sparkles more brightly when a selected
elevator car is ready for boarding. Glass block pylons were
built as information/help stations that direct passengers
to various locations, and offer call boxes where passengers
can call for assistance.
To showcase the lighted glass block while keeping the lighting
system hidden, Hartman-Cox used a different patterned glass,
which uses a fine grid of closely spaced ridges for maximum
privacy, while providing moderate light diffusion.
Illuminating Results are Above PAR
For assistance in lighting the glass block, the design team
turned to Candace M. Kling, an architectural lighting expert
whose firm is based in Alexandria, Va. Her charge, said Kling,
was "to capture your eye, so you know where you're going."
Although she had no previous experience in lighting glass
block, Kling followed the same treatment she uses for back
lighting stain glass windows.
The lighting system for each of the lighted areas is situated
in narrow corridors created between the glass block wall and
the concrete foundation wall. Originally, the project's electrical
engineer attempted to install straight-strip fluorescent lighting,
with poor results. Kling said fluorescent lighting was not
conducive to the curvature of the walls, and that using straight-tubed
fluorescents created bright lighting at the bottom of the
glass block wall, but the light would fade as it reached the
top of the wall. "It created an uneven, striped effect,"
said Kling.
Instead, Kling's solution was to install a socket-strip system
utilizing PAR lamps - the same type of lamp commonly used
as flood lights on people's home garages. The PAR lamps shoot
a fairly tight beam of light up the wall, then bounce back
downward. The result is an even, well-lighted effect.
"The par socket system helped us enhance the curvature
of the glass block and gave us more control over the ability
to effectively light it," said Kling. "The result
is a warm, crisp, white color - it's not blue, pink or yellow."
Using a PAR lamp socket system also makes it easier to change
light bulbs and to perform maintenance, Kling said.
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