When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) reopened, after being closed for three years for expansion, new lighting using Xicato’s XTM modules was just one of the dramatic improvements to the space and exhibits. The expansion more than doubles the museum’s gallery spaces and provides almost six times as much public space as the previous building. Designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta, SFMOMA seamlessly integrates a 10-story expansion with the original Mario Botta–designed building to create 460,000 square feet.
As the largest modern and contemporary art museum in North America, SFMOMA is also the largest museum in North America to be illuminated with LED lighting. Arup was the Lighting Designer for SFMOMA and was involved with all the elements which create the sensory environment of the building and galleries — lighting, acoustics, audiovisual technologies, and building envelope design. Arup specified recessed track fixtures from Lighting Services Inc. with Xicato XTM Artist modules as the light source.
SFMOMA received LEED Gold certification for the building’s efficiency in its mechanical, lighting, water, and other systems.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC is a nine-story building with five levels above ground and four more below. The 400,000-square-foot building includes exhibition space, a theater and café, staff offices and an education center.
The building offers a number of prismatic angles and viewpoints known as “lenses,” or opportunities for visitors to view the White House and the Washington Monument, as well as other locations around the National Mall from unique framed perspectives—”a view of America through the lens of the African American Experience.”
The Yokohama Royal Park Hotel is a five-star hotel in Yokohama. “Shiki-tei” is a luxury Japanese restaurant located on the 68th floor. The quality of light was essential to creating the appropriate ambiance.