by Diana Nagler

An innovative and functional landscape lighting design can turn any location into an interesting visual statement. Professional lighting systems should help move the viewer's eye along the entire length of the landscape. Whether it's providing safety lighting for a residential property, or creating decorative lighting for a commercial site, today's products have multi-functional capacities. As technology changes and the options for designers increase, the landscape lighting industry will continue to bloom.

In an effort to showcase the various applications of its products, Kichler Lighting of Cleveland, Ohio, held a national contest to honor the best in nighttime photography. The company sent out information to its customers soliciting photographs for the contest. In order to enter, companies were asked to submit a nighttime photograph depicting one of their best projects. The only rule was that the photograph had to demonstrate how Kichler fixtures were used at the site of the project.

K-15044 VG - Porcelain Tulip Low Voltage Fixture (Seen above, on top of rocks, right side of photo). The glow of this porcelain tulip shade brings alive the sculpted beauty of stem and leaves. Finished in Natural Verdigris with bone porcelain tulip, it measures (see left) 10" wide and 29 1/2" high. Other fixtures used at this location include the K-15084 AZT Mini Accent Low Voltage Fixture (seen above, on top of wood beam structure). This compact 90 degree adjustable fixture is Textured Architectural Bronze and measures 2 3/8" wide, 6" and 3 3/4" high; and the K-15026 AZT Center Mount Low Voltage Fixture (seen above, in the center of photo) with a head measurement of 6" wide and 4 1/2" high. Users can expand the possibilities by altering the accessory stem heights.

The categories for the contest included the following areas: Path and Spread Lighting; Accent Lighting; and Deck Lighting. Some companies entered more than one category with the same project and a limit of five photographs per company was a criteria for the contest. The companies who participated were given an opportunity to compete for cash prizes, including a trip for two to Nassau Bahamas.

An additional purpose for the contest was to locate photographs that could be used in the Kichler catalog. Perhaps the strongest incentive for the many entries was the potential marketing value and nationwide exposure of being featured in the catalog.

The following photographs were some of the entries in the contest.

NiteTyme Illuminations

Cincinnati, Ohio

Categories:

Accent Lighting Application

Wall Wash Application

Path/Spread Lighting Application

A wholesale landscape lighting company that supplies outdoor lighting products to the landscape industry in the midwest and east coast, NiteTyme Illuminations of Cincinnati, Ohio, was one of the entries in the contest. Their project is an example of various types of lighting applications that can add a dramatic effect to any residential property. The photograph they entered (see page 37) displays a home located in an exclusive golf community in West Chester, Ohio.

The lighting techniques that were utilized included fixtures for accent lighting and spread lighting. Describing the project, company president Doug Ludman, says that he wanted to "illuminate the home front to accentuate with the proper use of shadows." The company used Kichler and Hadco fixtures for the lighting design of the home. "Quoins are one of my favorite and probably the easiest features of a home to illuminate," stated Ludman.

"This home was built to be maintenance free so there was a lot of stone to work with." Kichler pathway lights were used along the driveway and sidewalk areas, while Hadco well lights and spot fixtures were used on the exterior walls of the house. Ludman says he used a lot of grazing along the stone, brick, and quoins. "When grazing quoins, I usually use BL616 from Hadco, and place the fixtures within 8" of the foundation and use narrow spot MR16s," says Ludman. Where he has more room to graze brick and stone fronts, Ludman relies on PAR36 bulbs. In between the two left windows and under the porthole window, Ludman used IL336AL from Hadco. "I never forget to spot Star Magnolias like we had here with an MR16FMW in BL616," said Ludman.

The driveway and sidewalks were spread with light from Kichler's K15015 on an 18" stem. All of the fixtures that were used are powered by a single transformer with a photocell and timer. The biggest challenge of the project was to avoid windows and "hot" spots. The finished look provides a great example of how accent lighting and path lighting can add the illusion of volume and density to a residential structure.

The Lighting Corner

Grandville, Michigan

Category:

Accent Lighting Application

The photograph (see facing page) entered by The Lighting Corner of Grandville, Michigan, showcases a residential water feature application located in a client's front yard. The fifteen year-old lighting company has one store location in Holland, Michigan, and another store located in Grandville, Michigan. Bert Van Drunen, manager of the Holland store says that the biggest challenge of the project was lighting a nearby waterfall without having the light source shine through the front window of the home. Since the client wanted to enjoy their landscaping after dark, the project involved extensive use of accent and path lights.

The mini-spot lights were used to uplight the trees in the landscaping. Path lights were also used throughout the site. "We used path lights for two reasons. One reason was to light the travel route to the front door. The other reason was to light the perimeter of the creek and pond," said Van Drunen. The company tried to create a 3-D effect with the landscape lighting of the home.

The location features a waterfall leading to a small sand area that was put into the front yard. The site also showcases a bridge crossing over to the front door. One of the goals of the project was to properly light the bridge and to keep the pathway lit all the way up to the front door. Van Drunen also uses this same method for lighting up wooden gazebos. "A lot of times, we will mount some of the deck lights upside-down to create a little wall sconce effect," said Van Drunen.

The company used path lights, deck lights, and mini-spot lights that were all low voltage lights set up on a timer. Van Drunen says that the company likes to set up its projects with timers on the transformers so that the lighting comes on whether the customer is home or not. He feels this gives the home a safer environment after dark. This project illustrates how safety lighting can also provide an artistic aesthetic for a residential property.

Linde Horticulture Group, Inc.

Sandy, Utah

Category:

Path/Spread Lighting Application

K-15042 OB - Decorative Cattail Low Voltage fixture (seen above). The true beauty of a garden will be brought to life with this intricate path and spread light. The light can add the necessary safety lighting needed for darkly lit areas, without intruding on the design of the area. Hand painted in Kichler®'s Olde Brick Solid brass shade with a unique floral accented stem. The fixture measures 21" tall and 6" wide.

Owner Stephen Linde chose a photograph of a project where his company created a "temporary" landscape lighting design. The picture (see facing page) shows a temporary garden set up for an outdoor wedding at an upscale home in Salt Lake City. In the background of the picture the edge of one tent is visible. The tent was set up for refreshments and possible inclement weather.

The reception area was in the center of a large lawn. Since the bride's mother wanted the area to have the appearance of a garden, the company set up a 40 by 40 garden on two sides of the tent. The garden was complete with flowering shrubs, trees, conifers, paths, bird sounds and a re-circulating stone-lined pond with a small cascade."

"Since this was an evening reception, we added about twenty low-voltage lights to the temporary garden, including spots, uplights, underwater lights, as well as path spread lights," said Linde. The photograph shows a Kichler "Cattails" light, which was placed as the corner of the pond, right on the edge of a path. The plant behind the light is a dwarf fir, Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'. Directly beneath the light is a clump of Kinnikinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. "We were trying to show the stone, the plants, and provide pathway light with one fixture," stated Linde.

Since the homeowners did not want to put a permanent garden in the center of their lawn area, the temporary was the best solution. Linde says that the logistics of a temporary garden are such that the cost is nearly equal to a permanent garden of the same scope. "The live plants presented a problem with root balls and pots above the ground, so we put the whole thing on the surface and built up the surrounding with the bark to hide the temporary aspects. Nothing was buried except for the power line to run the features," explained Linde.

Although the garden was temporary, an additional design challenge was present...With a temporary lighting system, a designer doesn't have the benefit of being able to change the existing site features as readily as if it were permanent. Therefore, each element in the temporary site has to be made to blend into the scenery as if it's there to stay. Every feature must fit together.

The combination of the soft glow from the lights, the sounds of running water, an audio tape of woodland birds playing, and a few strategically placed benches all combined to create a unique place for the attendees. This lighting application is a good example of how path and spread lighting can help create the right atmosphere for a special event.

Kilohana Lighting, Inc.

Lihue, Hawaii

Category:

Spread Lighting Application

K-15026 AZT - Center Mount Low Voltage Fixture Kichler®'s center mount fixture (seen at right and below). This fixture radiates a smooth, even light pattern with minimal glare. The Textured Architectural Bronze fixture is ideal when placed along entrance steps or paths. Dramatic effects may be obtained by grouping large and small fixtures together. Expand the possibilities of spread lighting by altering the accessory stem heights. Fixture head measures 6" wide and 4 1/2" high.

Kilohana Lighting, Inc. is a retail lighting showroom and lighting design company that submitted a winning photograph in the accent lighting category. The photograph (see above) depicts Pahio Resorts in Princeville, Hawaii, a new time-share resort. Owner Susan Irie says that the purpose of the project was to light the site in a discreet way. "The location is already one of the most beautiful spots on the planet," said Irie, adding, "I only wanted to enhance the beauty that was already there."

Since much of the project involved installing lights underwater and near rocks, the most difficult part of the task was maneuvering through the obstacles at the site. In order to make maintenance easier, the company decided to use only one type of underwater lighting so that they didn't have to worry about stocking various fixtures. The accent lighting placed around the rocks at the site provides safety lighting as well as visual appeal.

Irie says that getting good nighttime, landscape lighting photography is difficult. "You only have a window of about twenty to thirty minutes where the lighting is right...it involves a lot of waiting around until the right moment." However, as the Kichler contest demonstrates, the end result is well worth the wait. LCM