A view of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial site.
Randy Burkett Lighting Design
Site Plan.
Hochlander Davis Photography
The forecourt entry with a view across the Tidal Basin to the …
The forecourt entry with a view across the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial beyond.
Hochlander Davis Photography
The forecourt entry at night. White-light LEDÂ fixtures line th…
The forecourt entry at night. White-light LEDÂ fixtures line the underside of the concealed cove that illuminates the walkway.
Hochlander Davis Photography
Dr. King’s silhouette emerges from the block of granite referr…
Dr. King’s silhouette emerges from the block of granite referred to at the Stone of Hope.
Randy Burkett Lighting Design
Dr. King’s silhouette in the Stone of Hope as seen at night. T…
Dr. King’s silhouette in the Stone of Hope as seen at night. The 3-dimensional quality of the sculpture is enriched through the creative application of highlights and shadows using various beam shaping devices.
Randy Burkett Lighting Design
Visitors to the site at night.
Ron Solomon Photography
A view of the site at night with the Inscription Wall to the l…
A view of the site at night with the Inscription Wall to the left and the granite block, the Mountain of Despair and the Stone of Hope, in the distance.
Hochlander Davis Photography
The Inscription Wall as seen during the day. It features quota…
The Inscription Wall as seen during the day. It features quotations from Dr. King's speeches from 1955 to 1968 on the subjects of justice, democracy, hope, and love.
Randy Burkett Lighting Design
A section at the Inscription Wall. A T5HOÂ asymmetric luminaire…
A section at the Inscription Wall. A T5HO asymmetric luminaire concealed in an in-ground trough along the base of the wall uplights the carved inscriptions.
Ron Solomon Photography
The Inscription Wall at night.
Randy Burkett Lighting Design
A detail of Dr. King’s silhouette in the Stone of Hope as seen…
A detail of Dr. King’s silhouette in the Stone of Hope as seen at night.
Located on the northwest edge of the Tidal Basin, which is part of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial sits directly on the axis between the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. This tribute to King, which opened in Fall 2011, celebrates the ideals that he stood for—freedom and justice.
To light the most recognizable feature of the site, the Stone of Hope—the three-dimensional form of King that looks out over the Tidal Basin—the lighting designers, David Mintz with Randy Burkett Lighting Design, chose 150W T6 ceramic metal halide precision spotlights. The fixtures are mounted on two 45-foot-tall poles, one on each side of the sculpture, and include custom glare-shields, spread lenses, and neutral density filters to optimize the beam distribution and light intensity. To capture the appropriate facial expression and to provide the definition of the shadows that the team desired, the lighting designers knew that they had to set the light at a higher mounting height than the statue itself. Hence the poles, which are nestled into the cherry tree groves along the site.
Given the unique setting, the designers were aware of how this project related to the city and the network of public spaces, monument, and memorials at the National Mall. Whereas the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials are about lighting a statue within a structure, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial had a different goal—to illuminate King’s ideas.
Jury Comments: The lighting is approached like a theatrical performance, setting scenes and activating the public space in a way not expected. • Love the way the lighting creates a dramatic effect.
Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.
