Sheldon renovation opts for energy-efficient exterior lights

Tag : Light Travertine
Sheldon renovation opts for energy-efficient exterior lights

BY TOM WHITE, SHELDON MUSEUM OF ART
By day, Sheldon Museum of Art shares a nuanced elegance withpassers-by; by night, the museum bathes itself in light to create arhythmically articulated drama.

Architect Philip Johnson's decision to shoot light upward, alongthe sculptural columns that die into Sheldon's repeating band of 30flattened arches, turned the building into a nighttime campusmonument - against a dark canvas, a gleaming, white jewel boxsitting on a raised terrace.

However, 45 winters and early-1960s lighting technology combined tocrack much of the travertine stone that sheaths the building'sbase, or plinth. Fortunately, modern technology has an answer formaintaining Johnson's lighting design, protecting the stone'sintegrity, and offering reduced maintenance.

A completed element of the exterior renovation under way at Sheldonis replacement of the original 300-watt incandescent bulb systemwith red, green and blue light-emitting diode technology. Inwinter, heat from the original bulbs melted snow falling on thebase, creating water that infiltrated crevices and joints and thenfroze. Over time the freeze-thaw cycle caused the stones to crackand move. By contrast, the new LED system will produce only 18watts, eliminating the freeze-thaw effects of the lights whilesaving energy.

"The incandescent lamps last less than 1,000 hours. The LED lampshave a 50,000-hour lifetime," said Joe Goodwater, a project managerwith Facilities Planning and Construction overseeing therenovations. "The new system will save energy, but its maintenancecost-savings will be even greater."

The university's Aesthetic Review Committee approved Sheldon's newlights after evaluating the system's ability to match the color ofthe existing lights. By varying the intensities of the three colordiodes, the new illumination system can be programmed to producemillions of color variations. Controlled by a computer, Sheldon'ssystem will be programmed for up to eight preset variations.

The new LED system is manufactured by Color Kinetics, a division ofPhilips. The technology has been adapted for public sites includingBoston's historic Old North Church and the Centennial Waterfall atthe Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.

As the new system was installed, contractors replaced or repairedthe travertine that wraps the plinth.

The exterior repairs to Sheldon, now in their second of twosummers, have been extensive. Last year the building's roof wasreplaced and fascia, capstones and column stones were stabilized.

Along with the plinth upgrade, workers have started torepair/replace the east and west entrance stairs. The improvementsare funded by a legislative appropriation.

For more information, go to www.sheldonartgallery.org .



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