The Grace and Griffin on Spring

The Grace on Spring consists of a 24-story tower that features 300 apartments, 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and numerous amenities. It follows its sister project across the street at 755 Spring Street, which houses 275 luxury apartments. The set of 24-story mixed-use development includes the following Luxury amenities for residents:

• Observatory rooftop lounge
• Two-story fitness center
• Yoga studio
• Business center conference rooms
• Resort-style swimming pool
• An entertainment lounge

WSP provided architectural and façade lighting design services as well as LEED consulting services and comprehensive energy modeling and analysis services and achieved the level of LEED Silver Certified.

Located at the intersection of Downtown Los Angeles's Historic Core and Fashion District, this 24-story mixed-use high-rise design had to blend old with new and reinterpret historic, Art-Deco elements with simpler contemporary lines. Lighting challenges included re-enforcing these design influences, aiding the nighttime revitalization efforts of the historic area while maintaining a calm, oasis-like modern environment for residents – all within a limited budget.

The prominent corner façade is uplit with precision, using miniature 4" aperture spot luminaires for a uniform 40-ft high throw that repeats several times up the 150-ft tall GFRC panels, re-enforcing the vertical lines of the architecture. The simple cubic geometry of the luminaires allows them to integrate into the façade visually. Smaller,2.9" aperture luminaries accentuate more minor façade details on the south and east for a sharp 20ft high throw. This vertical articulation is "crowned" at the top with a "color-splash" of RGB lighting accenting the mechanical roof-screen.

Using a modern interpretation of custom Art-Deco sconces, fitted with discreet up/down LED modules that subtly highlight architectural trims, as they create a safe nighttime environment, the south façade lighting engages the busy pedestrian sidewalk and retail activity at 8th street. This lighting addresses well-known safety concerns in the area and is a significant aspect of the revitalization efforts. By contrast, the private terraces on the 7th, 9th& roof levels provide a serene atmosphere that transports residents from the bustle of the city below. Paths, decks, and planting are all softly illuminated with minimum uplight glare for residents as they enjoy the views below.

Architectural lighting is more subtle in the main lobby, providing an ambient light as the decorative interior elements play a feature role. Lamping for all the decorative luminaires was selected. All the different diffuser materials "glowed" at the same apparent color temperature; We fitted stark white opal diffusers with warmer 2500K LED lamps to match the2700K sources used on other luminaires. The vaulted ceiling in the elevator lobby is uplit by a meticulously detailed cove light, with the luminaires angled within the tight shelf to avoid excessive brightness on the walls. We carefully designed the decorative metal trim height to avoid intercepting the main beam of the cove light and risk creating harsh shadows. This diffused, indirect lighting helps minimize reflections on the specular stone surfaces of the lobby while enlivening the modern re-interpretation of historic architecture

We addressed project budget concerns throughout the design process. For façade lighting, we tackled this using a limited quantity of high-performance luminaires, strategically placed for maximum effect (for the money). Improvised installation techniques were another way budget concerns were addressed: in place of costly handrail-integrated egress illumination systems at terraces, budget-friendly bollards were custom-integrated into the storefront system for significant cost savings.

Maximum energy savings and light pollution concerns are simultaneously addressed by the exterior lighting control system, which offers a late-night "curfew" mode where all upper façade lighting systems are shut off. The roof-level programmable RGB luminaires are also dimmed during this scheduled "curfew" mode.