Jackson Square Office was recognized with a Lighting Control Innovation Award of Merit in the 2025 Illumination Awards held by the Illuminating Engineering Society. Lighting and control design by Pritchard Peck Lighting. Photography by Bruce Damonte.
The Lighting Control Innovation Award was created in 2011 as part of the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Illumination Awards program, which recognizes professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design. The Lighting Controls Academy is proud to be a founding and longstanding founding sponsor of the Lighting Control Innovation Award, which recognizes projects that exemplify the effective use of lighting controls.
Revitalizing a whisky distillery in Jackson Square, the team aimed to transform the historic building into a modern office that embraced the concept of coffee-by-day and whiskey-by-night. The duality of the high-performing workplace combined with a vibrant social hub called for unique lighting and controls solutions within a compact 3,900 sq.ft. space.
Transitioning from a daytime office to nighttime entertainment presented challenges, necessitating meticulous detailing of lighting systems, power distribution, use of residential techniques, and thoughtful controls integration. Warm-dim lighting, governed by timeclock-based scenes, facilitated a transformative visual shift from bright, crisp daytime light to soft, warm nighttime ambiance.
A wireless lighting system minimized costs and reduced the need for exposed infrastructure. Collaboration between the team and programmer yielded intuitive lighting scenes that flattered guests and created a memorable evening atmosphere. The lounge featured more than 10 lighting layers, making this process quite intensive while providing the opportunity to truly paint with light.
To lower energy consumption, uplights were integrated into the baseboard, reducing contrast with incoming daylight and supporting comfortable work light levels. Customized output and optics were carefully selected to meet strict energy requirements while achieving desired textural effects on the brick. The success of this approach hinged on extensive mockups and product reviews, alongside intricate detailing within existing flooring.
Indirect lighting was employed to prevent a corporate vibe while promoting a glare-fee workspace. To add sparkle and residential warmth, power and controlled outlets were integrated into millwork for decorative fixtures. With limited walls for concealing power, creative cord management became a design highlight.
The design efforts shine through as soft light illuminates the windows, adding energy to the street below. Ultimately, controls and warm-dim technology were vital for the project’s success activating this historic workplace from the first sip of coffee through the last sip of whiskey each day.
Originally used as a whiskey distillery, this historic Jackson Square office renovation sought for a “Coffee-By-Day and Whiskey-By-Night” design solution.
Layering of light accented historic elements and provided a residential light-quality, which was essential for transitioning the vibe throughout the day.
Indirect pendants, with obsessive detailing on the power-over-suspension and mud-in canopies, softly lit the space without a corporate feel to the design.
Iterative mockups contributed to the cleverly concealed baseboard uplight, which accented the brick, reduced glare from daylight, and added warmth and texture.
Power and controls for lamps and sconces was detailed into millwork to add human-scale and sparkle, further enhancing the residential light quality.
The employment of thoughtful and intuitive lighting control scenes allowed users to adjust light levels and configurations for a variety of space arrangements.
The addition of warm-dim technology and smart controls in the lounge assisted in the visual transition from daytime office use to evening cocktail events.
More than 10 lighting layers were detailed into the lounge to provide flexibility for uses ranging from enjoying afternoon coffee breaks to entertaining top clients.
With no walls to conceal power, detailing of exposed cords and controlled outlets became an integral part of the design concept.
Design driven by warm-dim-lighting, creative details, and mindful controls beautifully elevated each moment from the first sip of coffee to the last sip of whiskey.
