Each month, Alcon Lighting donates to support causes that reflect our core values
Checkout using your account
Checkout as a new customer
Creating an account has many benefits:
- See order and shipping status
- Track order history
- Check out faster
1716 Wilton Court Apartments
Palo Alto, California
1716 Wilton Court Apartments
Architect
The design team included lead architect Adrianne Steichen, Rachael Davidoff, Kevin Riley, Jr. and designer Gabrielle Pearce.
Client
Location
3705 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California 94306
Date of completion
October 2022
Background
“Wilton Court is [Palo Alto’s] first approved affordable housing project since 2013 and is the inaugural project for its new Affordable Housing Combining District,” according to the client, Alta Housing. With over 20 years of experience and leadership in multi-family residential developments throughout the Bay Area, lead architect Adrianne Steichen assembled a team of compliance, design and architecture professionals for this government-subsidized Silicon Valley housing project.
2-Inch Optic Height Perimeter LED Cove Recessed Light
An architectural Light-Emitting Diode (LED) fixture with added durability featuring Bluetooth and wireless Mesh technology and a vandal-resistant design.
View DetailsAlcon Escala 14009-4 4-Inch Square Baffle Architectural LED Recessed Can Light
The Escala 4-Inch Square Baffle Architectural LED Recessed Can Light offers easy servicing and upgrading featuring tool-free installation and quick connect technology, and brings clean lines and clear light to commercial or residential office lighting interiors.
View Details
Who is the lighting designer?
Minuscule Lighting Design, collaborating with PYATOK architecture + urban design
Alcon 14073-DIR Illusione 2.5-Inch Architectural LED Direct Square Recessed Light
The Illusione 2.5 Inch Architectural LED Square Trimless Recessed Fixed Light Fixture is designed for lasting durability and beauty while providing quality and energy efficient lighting for low to medium ceilings.
View DetailsAlcon 12201-S Round LED Surface Light
This round commercial-grade surface-mount LED skylight is die-formed in 20-gauge spun steel. An architectural Light-Emitting Diode (LED) fixture with added durability featuring Bluetooth and wireless Mesh technology and a vandal-resistant design.
View Details
What was the lighting design goal and challenge for this project?
“Quality lighting design for affordable housing can be quite challenging,” admits Minuscule’s lighting designer Max Pierson-Liénard. “In addition to budget constraints, California’s [regulation] Title 24 is quite restrictive in the wattage allowances for corridors in particular. However, it was important to us that they [the corridors] didn't feel institutional, and that each unit entry was clearly distinguished. Corridors could feel relatively long and narrow and we liked that this approach makes them feel very open and navigable.”
Which lights did you purchase and why?
“Alcon Lighting’s perimeter cove [lighting] system in 3000K” Max Pierson-Liénard said. “We used a fixed-length product to keep the cost down, which allowed us to get a much higher-end appearance than would typically be available for an affordable housing corridor setting.”
Why did you use 3000K light color temperature?
“We used a soft white 3000K as it is warm enough to feel residential but doesn't feel too yellow—especially when adjacent to daylit spaces,” said Max Pierson-Liénard.
What was the overall goal of the space? How did you go about achieving the client's vision?
Lead architect Adrianne Steichen said: “The locally-based nonprofit developers intended to deliver supportive, affordable housing for at-risk Palo Alto residents, and [they] worked over many years to secure permits and build neighborhood support for this project. Wilton Court leverages its location on El Camino Real to ensure resident access to parks and shopping within walking distance as well as public transit. The project itself simultaneously activates the pedestrian streetscape with storefront amenity spaces and public art while creating highly sustainable, comfortable, secure homes and common spaces for residents. Precedent research, stakeholder conversations, and grassroots political activism all informed project design and secured public funding crucial to getting the vision built.”
The nation’s top building energy codes and standards—Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 —are used by every U.S. state as the basis for local building energy codes. These codes and standards reflect the lighting specification and control requirements designed to conserve energy. Every year, Alcon Lighting compiles the list of updates to U.S. commercial lighting mandates that architects, designers, engineers and builders must meet for new construction and major renovation projects.
More Case Studies
The high profile Albuquerque branch, constructed to replace an outdated existing branch, was conceived to introduce digital innovation to unique branch architecture and streamlined project management…
View project
Re-purposing what had once been a locksmith shop, Hunt remade the building with respect for the existing ceiling structure, retaining concrete block walls and exposing ducts. “Giving the client a range…
View project
To highlight existing industrial architecture by preserving previous parts while offering a contrast with new construction. Architectural lighting design works to serve, highlight and enhance certain…
View project
Alvarez & Vincent designer Christian Munoz met with AARMY’s LA head, Angela Manuel-Davis. “We knew that she was a former USA track team member,” Munoz said, adding that Manuel-Davis invited designers to…
View project
Founded in Houston, Texas, Othon is a multi-descipline civil engineering firm focusing on private and state-sponsored projects, such as a segment of California’s high-speed railway, sought…
View project
The design goal was to light the center’s work environment while enticing tenant workers with a hospitable, front office flair.
View project
After 26 years in the games industry—working on brands such as Lord of the Rings and 007 James Bond—CEO and founder Bret Robbins started Ascendant Studios in 2018 with the goal to foster...
View project
After 26 years in the games industry—working on brands such as Lord of the Rings and 007 James Bond—CEO and founder Bret Robbins started Ascendant Studios in 2018 with the goal to foster...
View project
The lobby is narrow and deep, fronting a street—located in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Jackson Square neighborhood with tall, canopied trees and tall, adjacent buildings—which made it challenging to draw natural light into the innermost spaces.
View project
Speculative suites are typically suites within a multi-tenant building in which the landlord preemptively invests in making the space move-in ready (or near move-in ready) without necessarily having a business contracted to occupy the space.
View project
Sharp Law Office has 20 attorneys and staff. The firm practices in 45 states, the Caribbean and areas in Europe, necessitating both virtual and in-person services from their Kansas office, located on a bustling street in a residential area.
View project
Connecticut-based Mike's Organic, an online marketplace selling produce from local farmers via online orders with local pick-up and delivery, opened their flagship market in a former International House of Pancakes (IHOP) building in the Cos Cob neighborhood...
View project
“Wilton Court is [Palo Alto’s] first approved affordable housing project since 2013 and is the inaugural project for its new Affordable Housing Combining District,” according to the client, Alta Housing.
View project
Located in an Illinois forest preserve near the convergence of three rivers that form the Illinois River, Four Rivers Environmental Education Center’s visitor center needed a variety of interior and exterior spaces, including a 2,000-gallon fish tank, to immerse visitors in the region’s natural habitat.
View project