Commercial Architecture May 2017 - 46

PROJECT

lighting

Mall History
T

he King of Prussia Mall, 25 miles northwest
of Philadelphia, was originally developed by

the property-management firm Kravco Co., King of
Prussia, PA. Known then as The Plaza at King of
Prussia, it debuted in 1963 as an open-air shopping
mall, anchored by two department stores and a
supermarket. In the 1970s, The Plaza comprised a fullyenclosed section connecting three anchor department
stores and a now sprawling outdoor section.
Kravco soon recognized the need for a second
fully enclosed, more upscale mall. It built The Court at
King of Prussia, with anchor stores Abraham & Straus,
Bloomingdale's, and Macy's. The Court was separated
from The Plaza by a parking lot.
In the '90s, demand for luxury goods continued
to grow, as did retailers. High-end department
stores, such as Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and
Nordstrom, were looking for new locations in the
growing Philadelphia area and King of Prussia Mall
management didn't want those anchor stores to end
up somewhere else.
The company had a predicament, however. The
Court was located on a small piece of land with no
room for expansion and The Plaza wasn't "right" for
three or more considerable new upscale stores. In
an ambitious campaign, Kravco decided to rebuild
The Plaza with two fully enclosed levels throughout,
making it as attractive to upscale retailers as The

In addition to using Architura LED fixtures to illuminate the interior courtyard, the Stuart Weitzman shoe store uses several products from Orgatech's
sister company, Organic Lighting, to feature their footwear.

Court. Kravco then began marketing the two malls
as a single entity. A distinctive pedestrian bridge
with integral walkway, constructed around this time,

rimeter lighting is a focal point for mall visitors while

These skylights could have presented a lighting prob-

providing wayfinding assistance for shopping ease.

lem. Instead, KGM designed a plan that took advantage
of abundant natural daylight, working concurrently

INDOOR LIGHTING

with sophisticated lighting controls.

Because Architura has the versatility to be used indoors,
KGM also used it to illuminate the interior courtyard.

Indirect illumination saturates vertical surfaces of
the perimeter skylights, as well as areas above the store-

For Stuart Weitzman, the high-end shoe store in

fronts. Together, they create a continuous band of light

King of Prussia Mall, lighting designer Justin Oviedo of

that surrounds the entire Connector building. Direct

Lighting Management Inc., Pomona, NY, chose Orgat-

illumination sources throughout the Connector's interi-

ech's sister company, Organic Lighting's liniLED PSP

or space enhance while creating well-balanced lighting

flexible and dimmable light strips. Oviedo used them to

in a layered environment. CA

connected the malls.
As many older malls across the country struggled
to stay afloat, King of Prussia Mall continued to
prosper. In November 2014, Simon Property Group,
which became majority owner in 2011, announced
plans to enlarge the mall by connecting The Plaza and
The Court. With the August 2016 grand opening of the
Connector Wing, Simon Property Group became the
majority owner of the new 2.85 million-sq.-ft. shopping
mecca, one of the largest enclosed shopping centers
in the country.

illuminate a custom-made curved-wall shoe display,
along with other areas of the store.
To illuminate Connector interiors, KGM established
zones throughout the space. They used cove, indirect,
recessed, and decorative lighting, along with illuminated 3D ceiling panels, to create an identity for each of the

Want more information? To download the information listed below,
visit commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/1705orga.

building's different areas. The lighting systems seam-

Circle 8 on the Reader Service Card.

Download the Architura-S Outdoor Linear LED spec sheet.

lessly integrate with building architecture.

Tour the King of Prussia Mall.

Download the LiniLed PSP spec sheet.

The use of multiple skylights maximizes daylight.
46

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

MAY 2017

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture May 2017