IESBC 2019 Vision Awards Honour BC’s Best Lighting Designers

 July 2, 2019

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At a recent gala event celebrating the best in BC’s lighting community, the Illuminating Engineering Society of British Columbia (IESBC) honoured seven lighting projects with 2019 Vision Awards. “The lighting projects received this year showcased a variety of organizations utilizing new lighting technology to create new spaces and upgrade existing ones,” says Marty Geusebroek, IESBC’s chair member and account manager at CDM2. “From universities to public outdoor areas, it’s remarkable to see how subtle lighting additions can enhance texture, emphasize colour, and support the structure of the built environment.”

This year’s IESBC’s Vision Award and Award of Merit recipient is šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square Pavilion (EOS Lightmedia), formerly The Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza, for Outdoor Lighting Design in Vancouver, BC. The name used by the Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh peoples and the Squamish Nation refers to a place where cultural gatherings are held. The city wanted to renew this space so that it became Vancouver’s most compelling public square where overlapping activities and ceremonial events could take place. Find out more: https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-IESBC-Vision-Award-Square_Pavilion.pdf

Additional award of merit recipients include:

• UBC Aquatic Centre (AES Engineering) for Interior Lighting Design (Vancouver, BC). The new facility’s design, which targeted ASHRAE 2006 energy requirements, comprises unique ceiling geometrical planes and angles. The task was to illuminate the creative architectural design and enhance the space without monopolizing it; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-UBC-Aquatic-Centre.pdf

• Whistler Gateway Loop (AES Engineering) for Outdoor Lighting Design (Whistler, BC). This project involved illuminating an outdoor bus shelter at a major winter resort. The project mandate included local transit illumination requirements, Dark Sky compliance and budget limitations; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-Whistler-Gateway-Loop.pdf

• St. Michaels University School Sun Centre Dining Hall and Student Commons (AES Engineering) for Interior Lighting Design (Victoria, BC). Designing the project’s lounge and dining hall required multi-functional illuminance, energy code compliance, highlights to building features, and seamless integration into the surroundings; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-SMUS-Sun-Centre-Dining-Hall-Student-Commons.pdf

• Robson Court Renovation, 840 Howe Street (AES Engineering) for Interior Lighting Design (Vancouver, BC). This project involved illuminating interior, renovated spaces of a multi-tenant office building. One challenge was improving lobby wayfinding and providing ample interior lighting within a restricted ceiling space and budget; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-Robson-Court.pdf

• Richmond Olympic Oval event hall lighting upgrade (Prism Engineering Limited) for Energy and Environmental Design (Richmond, BC). The Richmond Olympic Oval is a large multi-use indoor sports facility with 19 activity zones comprising ice rinks, basketball courts, running tracks, and indoor soccer areas; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IESBC-Richmond_Oval.pdf

The 2019 BC Hydro Power Smart Lighting Redesign Award recipient is the Vancouver Convention Centre exhibition areas lighting upgrade (Prism Engineering), located in Vancouver, BC. An extensive lighting systems upgrade was implemented throughout exhibition halls and pre-function concourses, including replacing luminaires and upgrading lighting controls; https://promoteratheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IESBC-Vancouver-Convention-Centre.pdf

This year’s honourable mention is the Origo Club (Joy Chao & Michelle Tse) for Interior Lighting Design located in Richmond, BC.Submissions for the IES Vision Awards are judged based on how well the lighting design meets the program criteria. It is not a competition, and it is stage one leading up to IES’s national Illumination Awards, which will be presented on August 8 at the IES Conference in Louisville, KY.

Operating for over 60 years, IES British Columbia, a section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit technical society dedicated to promoting the art and science of lighting. Known as the go-to community for the newest lighting codes and by-laws, IESBC provides an environment for sharing knowledge and ideas to advance the career paths of all its members. Find out more: http://www.iesbc.org

About the award categories

• Control Innovation Award — Advanced lighting control solutions can provide significant energy savings, flexibility and other benefits in buildings. This prestigious award recognizes good lighting projects that exemplify the effective use of lighting controls in nonresidential applications. Guidelines suggestive of what to include in your submission are available. 

• Illumination Award for Interior Lighting Design — In 1902 Edwin F. Guth founded the St. Louis Brass Company and later renamed it the Edwin F. Guth Company. Mr. Guth’s profound creativity, entrepreneurialism and focus to improve interior lighting are partially represented through 147 patents awarded to him prior to his passing in 1962. This award recognizes exceptional interior lighting projects that balance the functional illumination of space with the artistic application of light to enhance the occupant’s experience.

• Illumination Award for Outdoor Lighting Design — The Outdoor Lighting Design Award recognizes excellence in lighting design and application in all aspects of exterior lighting. The program celebrates achievements in aesthetics, applied technical acumen, creative solutions to demanding site conditions and advancements to the industry in outdoor lighting applications. The goal of the program is to further the understanding, knowledge and function of outdoor lighting as a critical aspect of the built environment. 

• Energy and Environmental Lighting Design — The Energy and Environmental Design Award recognizes quality lighting installations in commercial and industrial buildings that incorporate advanced energy-saving strategies and environmentally responsible solutions into the overall design.

• BC Hydro Power Smart Lighting Redesign Award (BC only) — BC Hydro Power Smart presents the Lighting Redesign Award to recognize local talents that bring innovation and energy efficiency in lighting design. The Lighting Redesign Award recognizes quality lighting redesign or major retrofit installations in existing commercial and industrial buildings, that incorporate advanced energy-saving strategies and environmentally responsible solutions into the overall design, without sacrificing visual interest.