Dressing Up Houston

CHALLENGE:Known by its address—2929 Weslayan—the LEED Gold-certified tower includes 254 luxury apartment homes and 12,500 sq. ft. of retail space on the ground floor. Designed by Dallasbased RTKL Assocs., it provides panoramic views from spacious balconies. The balconies are on every floor, and they are curved, creating a wavy, organic appearance up and down the building’s gleaming façade. At night, those curves are accentuated by lines of light, which outline the edges of the balconies and form what appears, from a distance, to be a wave of light. INFLUENCE:Scott Oldner, of Scott Oldner Lighting Design, says the wave effect was intentional—to complement the glassy “river” that exists between the two columns of 16-ft. balconies. On the one hand, it’s a nod to nature; on the other, Oldner says, “The building was designed by RTKL to look like a woman in a flowing dress, with the balconies embellishing it like lace or the lines of a corset.” SOLUTION:The balconies standout due to iLight Plexineon White 2X 4500 LED fixtures. One thing was certain to Oldner: that Plexineon was the right product for the job. Having already used it in several applications, he appreciates Plexineon’s bright, consistent light. “Consistent color temperature across all the fixtures was crucial. Tape in an extrusion would not have provided that consistency, Oldner says. Color-changing light was considered, but he adds, “The design was classic and costs were tight, so we needed to go with a static white look. To add a bit of eye-candy, we used the Plexineon fixtures to define the upper dress and another color temperature for the ‘skirt’ at the bottom.” null