School Lighting Renovation Makes the Grade
Since Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn opened in 1957 for grades 6-12, there were not many campus upgrades — until roughly 10 years ago when the school began working with Perkins Eastman architects to complete a modernization that would be accomplished in phases.
One of the areas that was recently upgraded was the garden-level cafeteria, which had small windows and late 1950s finishes (which was fashionable at the time) that made the space feel dark and cave-like for much of the time, offset with periods of harsh, late-day sunlight from the west-facing windows. For the remedy, the Perkins Eastman team worked on a design that would simultaneously manage the sunlight coming into the space and extend the feeling of natural light throughout.
Ultimately, Lutron’s Sivoia automated roller shades and 54 tunable white ceiling fixtures with Lutron’s programmable Athena wireless nodes were selected to respond to changes in natural light over the course of the day. The shades adjust to welcome daylight when indirect, while minimizing glare and heat gain when direct sun streams in. In addition, the color temperature and intensity of the ambient light shifts to complement available daylight.
Fully controlled by Athena, the space is equipped with vacancy sensors and a small override keypad to save energy when the cafeteria is unoccupied. Jesse Mallen of Perkins Eastman explains, “The idea was to design the system to be as hands-off as possible, with no new responsibilities for the school staff, to ensure a seamless transition.”
Now, the space feels completely transformed. “It’s really been a ‘magic wand’ difference. Making a mostly below-grade space feel like every inch is within reach of sunlight is a testament to the impact and value of tunable white lighting,” says Mallen. The reaction from the school’s staff and students has been similarly positive. The new cafeteria is not only used as an eating space, but also for study halls, board meetings, and club get-togethers, and everyone is struck by the improvement in how the space looks and feels.
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