Outstanding Achievement, Whole Building – Utah State Capitol Restoration, Salt Lake City

Entrant: Randy Burkett Lighting Design

2 MIN READ

A true testament to the process of collaboration, the restoration of the Utah State Capitol—exterior and interior—would not be the success that it is had it not been for the team’s dedicated efforts from the project’s earliest planning stages. The Beaux Arts–influenced building is home to one of the finest collections of early 20th century architectural lighting. But before the team, including lighting designer Randy Burkett, could embark on the restoration, they had to evaluate the range of historic light fittings and decide how they would both restore original luminaires and upgrade the lighting to meet 21st century standards. To that end, Burkett enlisted Edwin Rambusch of Rambusch Lighting as a design assist consultant so that the lighting restoration work and the recreation of historic fixtures could be properly assessed for scope of work and budget.

The first order of business was to illuminate the exterior. The 300-foot-tall dome is softly, but precisely, lit from the rooftop corners with 400W metal halide floodlights. Additional layers of illumination highlight the lower portion of the dome’s drum and portico of Corinthian capitals on the façade.

For the interior, luminaires were recreated using archival photographs as reference and working from the extant decorative castings. The team always gave thought to both the look of the fixture as well as the quality of light emanating from it. To address the vast array of luminaires and variable conditions, eight interchangeable, multilamp reflector assemblies were designed to work with compact fluorescent, ceramic metal halide discharge, and halogen sources. More than 10 years in the making, the restoration of the Utah State Capitol celebrates light across the ages.

Jury Comments: The scope of the project and the project delivery is unique. • There is an extraordinary attention to detail in creating a lighting strategy that is sensitive to the historic architectural context. • A true collaborative effort.

About the Author

Elizabeth Donoff

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.

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