The Phoenix Financial Center, also known as the "Punchcard Building," stands as a significant architectural landmark in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally designed in 1963 by the esteemed Peruvian modernist architect W.A. Sarmiento, the complex includes a main building and two unique rotunda-shaped structures. Recently, under new ownership, the building underwent a major tenant improvement with a focus on updating its interior lighting.
The Challenge: Balancing History with Modernization
The interior of the building had remained largely unchanged for three decades, characterized by outdated decorative globes, track lighting, and fluorescent ceiling panels. The new owners aimed to modernize the space, creating a showroom experience that would highlight the building's architectural features and furniture, while avoiding overwhelming the space with excessive lighting. The key challenges included:
Maintaining the building's historical integrity while integrating contemporary lighting solutions.
Ensuring the new lighting needed to be energy-efficient to meet the sustainability goals of the ownership.
The Solution:
To address these challenges, the design team led by Catherine Pieratt from SPS Architects worked with Illumination Systems to implement the ModuLED suspended track system.
The ModuLED system features a 24V, 1.5-inch-wide low-profile track housing, which supports a variety of fixture inserts. This design ensures a minimalist look that integrates seamlessly with the existing architecture. The system includes 36-inch linear LED fixtures that provide clean, consistent lines of white light for general illumination. These fixtures are complemented by adjustable spot lamps that highlight key furniture pieces, adding visual interest without overpowering the space. Additionally, 1.5-inch pendant cord cylinders are used to illuminate the bar display, enhancing its prominence without overshadowing the showroom.
All fixtures are equipped with a 3500K color temperature and a 90 CRI (Color Rendering Index), delivering vibrant and accurate color rendering for materials like leather, wood, steel, and glass.
The system’s flexibility enabled easy adjustments to fit the unique architectural elements, achieving the desired modern look without compromising the building’s historical character.
Results:
The implementation of ModuLED’s suspended track system has proven to be an ideal solution for updating the lighting in this historic building. The new lighting system has not only enhanced the open office aesthetic, but also contributed to significant energy savings, aligning with the ownership’s sustainability objectives.
