Lighting Designer: Sara Chevalier – SC Design Studio
Supplier: NALP – North American Lighting Products
Electrician: Hansel Electric
Products Used: FORUM Linear panels within the FORUM Frame System.
This newly renovated commercial space in the downtown Toronto, Ontario Canada, core offers an industrial feel with its exposed ceiling and brick walls. Not only is this the perfect fit for the AKENDI Headquarters, but it also fits exactly what AKENDI wants to exude as a company. AKENDI’s business model is to ‘bridge the gap between business, design, and technology’ which has been perfectly executed in the space! The building’s original foundation offers a modern industrial atmosphere, and with some renovations, the space was transformed to fit the overall feeling that AKENDI was envisioning for their office space; modern organic.
AKENDI is a global UX design agency that provides, innovative strategy and design. They offer a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, designers, and strategists who uncover insights about human behavior, which they combine with creative design to architect the experience that meets every client’s goals. This type of works means their office space needs to have boardrooms, creative brainstorm areas, and desk space that allows for creativity to flow organically.
For the lighting portion of the project, Sara Chevalier was personally contacted due to her portfolio and was very excited to tackle this creative space. She was given the opportunity to take over the lighting design throughout the AKENDI office and had full creative freedom. Sara was met with the task of putting together a lighting design to provide a cohesive look throughout the office while offering flexibility as their spaces change from a corporate boardroom to a classroom, or creative brainstorm room. To achieve dynamic lighting throughout the boardrooms, Sara chose to use Liteline’s FORUM Linear panels within the FORUM Frame System.
Liteline’s FORUM Frame System provided the versatility to create a unique organic design, while having a sleek and modern finish that AKENDI was envisioning for its training and creative brainstorming spaces. A main boardroom for the office was envisioned to have its space not only feel but be adaptive. By pairing the FORUM Linear panel with the FORUM Frame System, Sara was able to suspend the lighting from the open frame ceiling while creating a unique, Tetris like, design that would light the workspace if the tables are in a classroom-layout, small groups, or circled around the room.
According to Sara, Liteline’s products made it easy for her to be creative and meet her design goals, while still gaining the optimal functionality and light levels required for a working space.
“I decided to use Liteline’s FORUM suspension line for 3 rooms as I could create a unique design that was almost like art, but that at the same time offered full lighting coverage throughout the space. I was impressed with the ability to select the color temperature, as many of the panel systems offer only bright white, which was not the overall feeling the customer or I were trying to achieve for the space. I used the suspended white frame system for the training room to keep it bright and airy, and then spilled over into two of the boardrooms using the black frames to again create an almost sculpted “bolt” design for a unique but functional centerpiece.”
Sarah Chevalier – SC Design Studio
Overall, Sara’s experience with choosing Liteline’s FORUM Linear panels within the FORUM Frame System was described by her as straight forward and easy. What made Liteline’s Linear products stand out to Sara when choosing the fixtures for this project, was the fact that they didn’t limit her creativity.
Below you can learn more about the Liteline fixtures used in the AKENDI office space.
Product Features
FORUM LINEAR
Taking panels to new lengths, FORUM Linear bridges the gap between a surface luminaire, a troffer, and a linear recessed downlight. Available in 6”x2’, 6”x4′, and 6”x6’, these fixtures have Liteline’s Glare Guard Technology on the lens. The lens is manufactured with a specialized etched film that overlays the 4’’ Light Emitting Surface (LES) to reduce glare by 60% while providing effective light distribution.
FORUM FRAME SYSTEM
FORUM offers flexibility at its finest! With eight panel sizes, three linear sizes, and six different mounting options, including the FORUM Frame System, this product family allows for a cohesive look throughout a space and creativity to expand past a traditional troffer.
The FORUM Frame System is what was used in the AKENDI office space and allowed for the creation of architectural lighting designs. The FORUM Frame System has rigid extrusions and connectors that are modular enough to create unique designs, yet strong enough to hold panels, acoustic tiles to dampen sound, millwork, and more.
