Mockup Portfolio:
Flatiron Crossing Mall

In July of 1999 Candela Architectural Lighting of Seattle enlisted the services of the Lighting Design Lab, Seattle to perform a simple Mock-Up. The goal of the mock-up was to evaluate performance and appearance of three similar recessed fixtures that used Metal Halide lamps. One of the design goals for Candela is to only specify products on their projects that they have actually seen installed and working. With a ceiling height that is adjustable up to 15 feet the Mock-up studio at the Lab offers an excellent opportunity for clients to assess potential products. In this case the Lab installers mounted the fixtures into standard acoustical tiles, switched them independently, and set the ceiling height to 14 feet per the clients request.

The basic concept for this mock-up was simple but some important issues were addressed.

• Fixture performance; (this is part of the photometric data but there are subtleties to actual fixture performance that cannot be derived from the specification sheets alone).
• Would the fixture deliver the quantity of light required?
• Would the light distribution pattern be appropriate?
• How even, or consistent is the light distribution from a given manufacturers product, and is there any patterning or irregularities of the light?

Fixture appearance;

• Does the trim assembly shield direct glare from the lamp from a "normal" viewing angle (this is called "cut off")
• Does the trim itself contribute to glare due to reflected lamp image (this is called "flash")
• Does the trim have any unwanted coloration due to the fabrication process (this is called "iridescence").
• Fixture construction, sometimes a fixture will perform suitably but something about its physical dimensions or how it must be installed that is not acceptable. Or it may just be poorly engineered or fabricated.

Some of the challenges or limitations of a mock-up such as this are;

• Fixtures do not interact with a "real" architectural space and this can make for a rather sterile viewing experience. However, most design professionals are used to seeing beyond this. This sterile isolation can sometimes be an advantage because the evaluators are not distracted by idiosyncrasies of architecture.
  

Exterior View of the Flatiron Crossing Mall in Broomfield Colorado. (Photo courtesy Image Design) This project was awarded an EPRI Award for outstanding lighting design incorporating energy efficiency from the Puget Sound Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Above: Different Metal Halide recessed fixtures evaluated at the Lighting Design Lab by Candela Lighting, Seattle for the Flatiron Crossing Mall. (photo LDL)

Above: view of general circulation area of mall using CMH downlights
(Photo Image Design)