Lightswitch has had a number of notable architectural projects recently.
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, a Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant, has opened in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Designed by Aria Group Architects of Oak Park, IL, the décor captures the ambiance of vintage Las Vegas. Using small aperture MR16 adjustable downlights, rather than traditional track lighting, Lightswitch created a clean look on the ceiling, giving focus to the exquisite chandeliers. Additionally, new asymmetric LED fixtures by IO Lighting with a custom "GLOW" color were used in the coves, eliminating the harsh lines often found on the ceilings when using festoon-type lamps in cove lighting.
Lightswitch’s Avraham Mor also lead the design effort on Wildfire Restaurant in Glenview, IL. With the aura of a 1940s dinner club, Mor also used IO exterior fixtures in a custom color to create luminescent white panels above glowing glass panels lit internally by Elliptipar cove fixtures. The remaining exterior was lit with KIM halogen flood lights to keep that warm dinner club feeling. All fixtures have barn-doors to limit light leak into the sky. Lightswitch is continuing to consult with Aria Group and LEYE on a number of new restaurants all over the country.
The company also designed the lighting systems for Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago. A temporary structure developed to service Clear Channel Entertainment productions, the 7,500-seat outdoor theatre was designed by architects Valerio Dewalt Train Associates. The facility is constructed with a scaffolding system that sits within a fully landscaped park. During the winter, all but the paving, lighting towers and electrical boxes will be stored to allow migrating birds undisturbed passage. A dark sky site, the architectural lighting was designed with 0% cutoff. Altman Outdoor PARs with perforated snoots, sitting atop 35’ poles, create a subtle glowing ring in the air. With unrestricted views of the Chicago skyline, occasional fireworks from Navy Pier add to performance ambiance.
New stores were added at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and the Vegas Fashion Show in Las Vegas for Local Charm, a chain jewelry store based in New Orleans. A fresh lighting approach, using 3K color temperature T5 and T2 lamps, brightened the look and reduced power and equipment costs by 75%, much to the delight of the owner.