Primera is ecstatic to announce that our Crerar Science Quadrangle project for the University of Chicago has recently won two awards: the 2019 American Architecture Award and the 2019 Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Illumination Award of Merit. Presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, together with The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, the American Architecture Award honors the best new significant buildings, landscape, and planning projects in the U.S. The IES Illumination Awards recognizes individuals and projects for professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design. Our in-house lighting expert, Deborah Steimel-Clair, was the lead lighting designer for Crerar and is credited for the lighting and controls concept, and successful execution of the final design.

The Crerar Science Quadrangle project is unique in that the final light feature is one-of-a-kind and provides illumination, drama and inspiration to what was an otherwise lifeless space. The overall project included the complete redevelopment of an existing pass-through at the University’s Hyde Park campus. This space never had a true design or distinguishable feature and needed a center focus that would create a gathering space and sense of purpose for the community.

Primera’s work on the project included the relocation of existing pathway lights, new lighting design for the custom ring structure plaza, power distribution for lighting, charging stations, and convenience power. The lighting design included detail-oriented coordination of custom fixtures with a custom-built signature structure. The exclusive centerpiece is now illuminated art that has become the focus of the quad. The circle shape also became a repeating design element throughout the project and is reflected in the tree placement and adjacent landscaping as well.

For more information about the American Architecture Awards, click here. For more information about the Illumination Awards, click here.

Photo credit: Kate Joyce Studios