Exterior Lighting – Effective and Attractive Strategies to Transform your Winter Garden

It’s dark at four? Oh, that’s just great.

To put it bluntly, wintertime means less daylight hours and tough weather conditions. By late afternoon it’s already getting dark and compared to the warmer months, our winter landscapes can appear drab and lackluster. Enter in the importance of a well thought-out lighting design.

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Brilliance Lighting Award !

325 Kent Ave is a residential building that is part of the larger Domino Sugar site being developed by Two Trees Management, Inc. The building has a noticeable ‘hole’ in the center- a playful nod to the ubiquitous ‘Sugar’ donut. The building was designed by Ismael Levya Architects, while the interiors were developed by Leeser Architecture. Blondie’s Treehouse, Inc built all three main exterior amenity spaces.

The Courtyard is 9900 SF. A central, rectilinear dry-bed leads through a random planting of large Shade trees, ferns and perennials and ends at a blackened steel water feature. The water spills into a reflecting pool that features a 12’ tall sandstone sculpture by Lluis Lleo. Two thirty foot built-in benches flank the deck that surrounds the end of the reflecting pool.

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Chelsea’s Terrace

The design of this corporate terrace needs to accommodate a multitude of functions. During the day the space serves as a meeting place, fresh air lunch breaks and respite from the stress of the day. In the evening it transforms into a social space for networking events and watching the sun set over the Hudson River. The landscape design aims to meld the clean aesthetics of modern design with the iconic architecture of the Starrett-Lehigh Building. 2 large teak tables are placed perpendicular to the length of the terrace providing spatial division and functional definition. Conversational seating is placed at the outward corner providing a soft lounge area that captures the optimum view. In contrast, 2 chaise lounges are placed in the far back corner protected by tall planters to provide the ultimate privacy for relaxing. 2 distinct areas of pavers are removed for the application of sedum green roofs. Capturing the storm water runoff these permeable areas assist in reducing waste water while also adding additional aesthetic value to the terrace. Ore planters are placed to envelope and segment the terrace into functional zones. Planted with color and texture, as well as herbs and vegetables, the plantings create seasonal interest and draw the attention outward from the interior. As one of ORE’s many customizable features, LED lighting was installed within the containers for added ambiance. The ability to locate the lighting elements within the structure of the planters allowed for the generation of a functional spatial design which complements the sleek aesthetics of the interior architecture.

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