PBA along with its architectural partners, received a 2014 IES Illumination Award and a Special Citation for Innovative Use of Acrylics in Lighting for a architectural lighting design installation that was a major focal point in the First National Building Lobby Renovation project in Detroit.
Once the ceilings were exposed as part of the renovation of the lobby, the lighting design partners on the project led by PBA came up with an innovative and economical lighting solution that used a 3D curvilinear acrylic form to guide pedestrians throughout the lobby to a mass of informational programs projected on a wall of embedded flat screen TV's. Instead of using a less economical continuous LED product, PBA lighting designers Stefaniak and Banfic incorporated linear LED's on mini spacers above the acrylic form both vertically and horizontally.
"As a team, we wanted something organic looking, a free-flowing form," Banfic reflects. "The acrylic feature needed to be self-luminous, thereby requiring no peripheral lighting fixtures."
The resulting vibrant and inviting lobby space continues to attract visitors from in and around the city and serves as a design inspiration for the ever-blossoming Campus Martius business district.
