Landscape lighting has come a long way since the era when all it was used for was illuminating a parking lot or a walkway to the front door. Today, Landscape Architects and lighting designers have found a wide array of new uses for lighting, and the manufacturers have responded with exceptionally innovative products to meet the demand. Safety and security have become a most important issue in design. The immediate solution to that enigma is landscape illumination-- by lighting paths and roadways, and not allowing any dark outdoors areas. It makes a real "bottom line" difference, which is shown in the vast numbers of various commercial projects throughout the country that now include outdoor lighting in the original design or renovation plan for a project. And not only has landscape lighting become an integral part of the Landscape Architect's tool chest, but new innovations have proved invaluable in making this a specific selling point and part of the total package, especially for such projects as shopping malls, country clubs, hotels and resorts. Using the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, NV as an example, Lighting Consultant Ross De Alessi of Ross De Alessi Lighting Design in Seattle, WA (an internationally-recognized lighting design firm with clients all over the United States, Finland and Scotland) describes the challenge he faced in lighting the new hotel with its Deco environments surrounding "Leo the Lion," the largest bronze sculpture in the world. "Our design had to illuminate an area which wrapped around the lion and extended 300 feet to the north and 700 feet to the east. Art deco design takes light beautifully, and we used the new Greenlee RDB, CBS and CBM fixtures to highlight the architectural elements and plantings," De Alessi said recently. "The new metal halide fixtures which Greenlee had pioneered, used both above and below ground, offer a permanence which has heretofore been virtually unavailable." He continues, "In lighting design, our approach is to apply light so that the architecture glows rather than just 'throwing light' at the subject, as some designers are prone to do." In fact, the whole city is a prime example of the use of landscape lighting. "Steve Wynn is one of the prime reasons why landscape lighting has been so popular in Las Vegas. This man has broken new ground in the use of outdoor lighting... just look at The Mirage... who else would have designed an erupting volcano and had it lit so that people choose to make a trip especially to see? All of his hotels use light as a 'celebration of the place.' Wynn knows what people want and can communicate those desires when we design for him." In Dallas, Texas, one of the most visible and most visited parks in the downtown area is Pioneer Park (See the cover of LASN, October 1992). This park, donated to the city by developer Trammel Crow, features over 30 longhorns coming down a hill and across a stream, herded by three cowboys who represent the three ethnic groups (African-American, European and Hispanic) who were responsible for Texas' stature as a ranching state. The illumination of the park, which is adjacent to Dallas' Convention Center, is visited by conventioneers throughout the year. Landscape Architect Mike Kendall designed the lighting to afford illumination all over the area, so the impact of the herd of longhorns could be felt both night and day. Innovative trends in the landscape lighting industry include a new composite material utilized for a number of bullet and pathway fixtures that has attracted raves from several Landscape Architects and lighting designers. According to Landscape Architect Keith Morrow of E D S A in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, whose designs are primarily for resorts and hotels throughout Florida and the Caribbean, the previous encasing for the lighting fixtures-- tin-- was a problem due to the humidity of the areas; but with the corrosion-proof fixtures that humidity is no problem and the fixtures continue to perform very well. According to Vice President of Sales Lloyd R. Reeder of Greenlee Lighting (A man everyone who has visited the Exhibition Hall at any ASLA Annual Meeting for the past 15 years has met at the Greenlee booth and an authority on lighting design), "The use of metal halide lamps has also 'taken off' because it simulates sunlight and many things, such as people and food, look much better by sunlight than by moonlight, although moonlight-- which was the standard for many years-- has its advantages too. Other innovations include high performance and adjustable optics (variable beam spread, tilt and rotation) in a corrosion-proof composite housing that provides 'Drive Over' capability." Landscape lighting has come a long way since it first came on the scene. And with a wide array of innovative products and techniques now available to Landscape Architects it will continue to be a major factor in landscape design. lasn Jets and reverse waterfalls are lighted with mixtures of primary colored light at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Color and beam pattern are separately circuited for control, color balancing, and orchestration with music. Some of the industry's newest innovations include Greenlee's RDB Series, which offer high performance and adjustable optics (including variable beam spread, tilt and rotation) in a corrosion proof composite housing that provides "Drive Over" capability. Dramatic uplights, downlights and bullets illuminate Dallas' famous Pioneer Park. The Greenlee CBS bullets are engineered to minimize glare without a shield, but available internal louver and external shield can provide maximum light control.