This is a 1,000-seat dining hall at Rutgers University. The existing lighting shown here consumed 70 kW of electricity. As you can see, this was an incredibly drab institutional space.
My new lighting scheme included the design of a large custom fixture mounted at the capitals of each column, plus other decorative fixtures.
Integrating the large custom fixture into the existing architecture was complicated since the ceiling was comprised of tilted panels. Creating very detailed 3D drawings helped to ensure that these would work -- which they did! The installation was a breeze.
I created a series of very detailed 3D drawings showing every aspect of the fixture, including banks of 40-watt twin-tube fluorescent lamps. In 1992, that was the state-of-the-art in terms of energy efficient light sources. They also included dimming ballasts for maximum control of light levels. That also garnered additional energy savings.
By using energy-efficient light sources in the custom and decorative fixtures, they saved 70% (or 49 kW) of the electricity. Rutgers also installed an architectural preset dimming system. That allowed them to save even more electricity.
This project won an International Illumination Design Award, as well as an award from EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) because of the massive energy savings resulting from the new design.
