Lighting Makes a Statement in Converted Industrial Office

Nov 26, 2019

When eSentire moved to its new corporate headquarters in Factory Square (Waterloo, Ontario), it took over two units of an existing industrial facility with tall ceilings and concrete floors. The fast-growing cybersecurity firm hired DFY Studio to transform the 65,000 sq.ft. expanse into an office building with large common areas and a café.

DFY Studio worked with the concept of a cyber highway and its interconnectivity to create a dynamic space with visual connections. These visual connections were achieved by highlighting elements in the open ceilings, exposed conduit to the lighting, and graphic wayfinding throughout the space.

“The lighting had a significant role in our concept for the overall look,” said Tahani Gunal, senior designer at DFY Studio. “We used it to connect our spaces visually and to enhance different zones on the floor plan.”

With ceilings over 20 feet, the design team sought lighting that would be powerful enough to illuminate the office environment, but not feel overly industrial. Gunal selected Luminis’ Prisma PR1682 as the primary luminaire for all open office areas. The pendant is suspended with an aircraft cable to bring the fixture below the exposed beams, pipes and ductwork. Its design is modern and streamlined, but a large 16” diameter ensures its scale is well suited to the high ceilings.

“With the black trim detail, the fixture has a beautiful sleek look that adds enough presence and illumination for the tall space,” Gunal said. “It holds its own and becomes a feature within the space, rather than disappearing.”

Prisma’s extruded aluminum housing is designed to optimize the functionality of the LED driver and solid-state components. Its diffused acrylic prismatic refractor with a linear peripheral pattern provides efficient down lighting to the workstations below.

Most of the luminaires in the office are standard 3500K color temperature, ensuring a well-lit and comfortable working environment for the employees. However, one of the eSentire departments is located in an area with no natural light and necessitated a unique solution. Prisma luminaires in this space have a tunable white LED driver, and the color temperature is managed by a clock in an external lighting control. It is programmed to transform throughout the day between 2200K and 6500K, simulating the natural change of light in a day. An employee in this space then has a sense of the exterior environment, so their circadian rhythm still follows what they would experience if they had access to natural light. There is also an option to manually override the system as required.

Low maintenance of the 150 + fixtures was also a consideration for the client, and Prisma will deliver with a lifetime beyond 150,000 hours.

“The client is very satisfied with the look and performance of Prisma,” Gunal said. “We really love how the eSentire project turned out.”

PROJECT NAME: eSentire
LOCATION: Waterloo, Ontario Canada
CATEGORY: Interior Lighting
PROJECT COMPLETION: June 2019
SPECIFIER: DFY Studio
LUMINIS AGENT: GS Lighting Group
PHOTOGRAPHY: INDUSTRYOUS Photography