Mockup Portfolios:
Issaquah Library

In April of 1999 Candela Architectural Lighting of Seattle requested a Mock-Up to evaluate a custom stack lighting system for the new Issaquah Library. Other parties in this mock-up were Bohlin Cywinsky Jackson architects and the King County Library System. The concept was to mock-up a 16' section of library aisle stacks with 7' walls 3' apart, painted medium gray and tan (to suggest the reflectance of books). A foamcore reflector was to be placed atop the 7' shelf units to simulate the proposed reflector to be used on the project.

Their design explored a number of advanced lighting techniques in an effort to maximize efficiency and improve lighting quality.

• Indirect light to minimize glare and soften shadows.
• Reflected light to increase vertical uniformity on the opposing stack shelf. Because seeing the books on the shelves is a vertical task, having the light more uniform on the vertical plane allows for better visibility of the books throughout the shelves.
• Mounting the luminaires on the shelf units for low light loss and easy maintenance. By mounting the lighting so close to the task area a high percentage of the light actually gets on the books and is not misdirected to other parts of the space.

Some of the challenges they faced

• Shielding the lamp properly for glare control.
• Achieving uniform lighting in the constricted space of the aisle.
• Designing a custom fixture system that couples with the shelving units.
  

Exterior View of the Issaquah Branch of the King County Library. It received a Guth Award for outstanding lighting from the Puget Sound Chapter of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Above: (left ) IIDA Award* winning lighting at the Issaquah Library. (photo Art Grice & James Housel)
(right) Custom stack lighting system for the Issaquah Library mock-up by Candela Architectural Lighting at the Lighting Design Lab (photo LDL)