Located in one of the largest and most established office precincts in Newmarket, New Zealand, the Watercare House set an architectural benchmark with its high quality design aesthetics and sustainability achievements. The developers of the 12,796 sq m (137,735 sq ft) commercial office building wanted to take advantage of the building's prominent location by featuring an innovative lighting system that fit with low energy consumption targets, as well as meet the high standards expected by corporate tenants.
The interior of the building received a custom lighting design solution from Color Kinetics that met the architect's vision and energy efficiency goals due to the exclusive use of LED luminaires. The exterior of the structure required a powerful lighting solution that could illuminate the modern design and transform the building into an eye-catching landmark at night. However, building management requested the luminaires be hidden from passersby to maintain the elegance of the building.
Color Kinetics ColorGraze Powercore luminaires (now specified with
ColorGraze IntelliHue Powercore) were installed along the lower edges of the extruding cassette elements, integrated into the architecture to remain out of sight. Although concealed, the luminaires still project abundant dynamic color light onto the façade. Management is able to easily schedule light shows with an infinite number of color options.
The new lighting system also needed to meet the New Zealand Green Building Council's criteria of no upward light pollution. Not only was this requirement met, but the energy savings of this installation also earned the Watercare House a Five Star Environmental Green Star Certification rating, which signifies "New Zealand Excellence." In addition to sustainability accomplishments, the reduced maintenance, fewer necessary replacements, and energy savings of up to 75% compared with conventional lighting fixtures, provide significant cost reduction.
"Used to illuminate iconic buildings around the world, we thought the Color Kinetics ColorGraze [Powercore] LED system would be perfect to bring definition to Watercare House's architectural features without causing any light spillage that might compromise its Green Star rating," said Signify Project Manager Geoff Lewthwaite.
