Las Olas City Centre, a 23-story state-of-the-art office tower and retail complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, is home to trendy cafés and high-end restaurants, making it a popular destination in the area. The building's signature feature — a 12.8 m (42 ft) pyramid, or ziggurat — distinguishes the structure, especially at night when it glows prominently in the skyline.
Stiles, the building's property manager, had to differentiate themselves from other properties in a competitive leasing market. "Investors searching for new office or retail space are asking about sustainability and energy efficiency more and more every day, and we knew it was time to identify key areas of opportunity and implement some aggressive programs," said Chris Rotolo, president of Stiles. Stiles earned LEED Gold Certification for the building by incorporating a variety of sustainability initiatives, including recycling, waste-to-energy, water conservation, green cleaning programs, and a new zero emissions flooring upgrade. Stiles also decided to update the building's aging exterior metal halide lighting system.
Stiles engaged LED Source in Wellington, Florida, USA, who recommended a Color Kinetics LED lighting solution. The goals of the new lighting system included reducing energy and maintenance costs, maximizing the building's presence in the skyline, and providing enhanced street-level lighting on Las Olas Boulevard to attract patrons and complement the adjacent nightclubs, high-end restaurants, and shops.
The lighting retrofit focused on four key areas of the building. LED Source used 242 ColorGraze Powercore (now specified with
ColorGraze IntelliHue Powercore) linear grazing luminaires in varying lengths — to illuminate the ziggurat. The luminaires were mounted to focus all available light on the "steps" of the ziggurat to give it dimension and make it stand out in the night sky. On the roof level, 32 ColorBlast Powercore wash luminaires illuminate the architectural setbacks on the building to visually accent the pyramid structure while creating a sense of depth. The team used eight ColorReach Powercore gen2 floodlights (now specified with
ReachElite) to illuminate the east, south, and west façades, and an additional eight luminaires to illuminate the five-story parking garage façade.
The new exterior LED lighting system is projected to reduce energy usage by 77% over the metal halide lighting system that it replaced, saving US $26,897 annually in energy and related operating costs. The programmable, color-changing lighting solution will also allow Las Olas City Center to promote charitable causes, holidays, and significant events throughout the year.
