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1716 Wilton Court Apartments

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Architect

The design team included lead architect Adrianne Steichen, Rachael Davidoff, Kevin Riley, Jr. and designer Gabrielle Pearce.

Client

Alta Housing

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.

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Alcon 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.

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Square recessed lights provide general lighting in the Wilton Court apartments lobby, with cove lighting over the mailboxes and elevators for a refined look.

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.

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Alcon 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.

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Surface-mounted disk lights and recessed can lights illuminate a common room at Wilton Court Apartments in Palo Alto, California.

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.”

Fixed-length cove lights over each apartment entry door in a hallway provide an upscale feel to an affordable housing project in Palo Alto, California.
Miniscule lighting designer Max Pierson-Liénard used fixed-length cove lighting above the elevators in the Wilton Court Apartments to provide a high-end look while keeping costs down.

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.

Flush mount disk lights balance with natural light through the front windows of a bicycle storage space at Wilton Court Apartments in Palo Alto, California.

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.

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