Hospitality Lighting - Summer 2008 - (Page 12)

Designers use subtle but effective architectural lighting techniques to create a plush and peaceful mountain-top retreat. By Nancy Robinson he Peaks Resort & Spa in Telluride, CO, is a sophisticated, upscale destination created for the international-travel connoisseur. With that in mind, designers at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill conceived an environment that exudes a sense of luxury, order, discretion and peace. Those qualities are achieved primarily through a highly edited color and material palette (indigenous fir wood, stone, leathers and wools); meticulous organizational features; and the strategic introduction of lighting. The result? “The Peaks is a perfect place to spend a snowy winter week and a perfect response to the client’s mandate,” says Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Associate Director Nada Andric. Situated in one of the most majestic environments in the world, the Peaks had to feature a quality of lighting so subtle and flawless as to be almost imperceptible. That meant absolutely no glaring light sources, no overly done decorative fixtures, or any type of light that would detract from the peaceful, understated quality of the resort. Moreover, artificial light sources needed to have a warm daylight quality to blend into the natural setting. “As with all my jobs, lighting played a major role,” Andric says, noting that the development of the lighting design at the Peaks was “parallel and simultaneous with the organizational, spatial strategies.” “I see lighting as a major factor in the appearance and the perception of the space,” Andric says. “Irrespective of what it contains and the preciousness of materials, it is truly the lighting that gives character to the space.” That is certainly the case in the Gold Key awardwining guestrooms, where the subtle and strategic use of light is central to the overall design. When natural light is not available, the main sources of artificial illumination are recessed MR16 halogen downlights, which were selected for their warm color temperature (2,800K) and crisp, focused light output. Small LED fixtures were also installed to provide accent lighting in 12 HOSPITALITY LIGHTING | SUMMER 2008 T the banquette and to highlight the luxurious feeling of the stone floor entrance and the Carrara marble fireplace surround. One of the most interesting uses of light can be found in the resort’s guestroom baths. Designers transformed the typically dank, dark rooms into glowing sources of light by enclosing them with movable, textured and frosted glass block walls. Small LED cove lights wash the glass with a warm 3,000K light. The same fixtures are also used above the vanity surround and above the millwork in the sleeping area to increase the perceived height of the room’s ceiling. Elsewhere in the property, architectural lighting is so well-integrated that the source is barely discernible. Hidden cove lights along the window wall simulate daylight and highlight the rich, ample drape of the curtain fabric at night. Recessed in the drapery soffit, the tiny fixtures cast a warm glow and were ideal for this application because of their low heat output. Even the corridor outside the guestrooms is artistically lit with what Andric describes as “a syncopated rhythm of concealed lights behind leather panels and downlights at the door portals for a pleasant journey down the long corridor.” At every turn, Andric sought to underscore the design by lighting objects and walls with purpose rather than an anonymous mix of fixtures and bland, even lighting. “The goal of creating a pleasant and memorable environment has always been achieved not with expensive materials but with the successful use of daylight and a strategic approach to the artificial lighting,” she says. “Most often this distinguishes a good design from the ordinary one.”

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Hospitality Lighting - Summer 2008 Contents Host Station Tips Sun Worship Peak Experience Amenities Express Checkout

Hospitality Lighting - Summer 2008

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