Lighting luxe

Lighting luxe
Lighting for the new Neiman Marcus in Austin, Texas, complements the store's elegant architectural statement

By Vilma Barr, New York Editor
June 01, 2008

Charlie Mayer Photography, Chicago

Located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, a new 80,000-sq.-ft. Neiman Marcus store debuted last fall in Austin, Texas, reflecting the city's status as a growing cultural and economic center. Drawing on a population of 1.6 million people in the greater Austin area, Neiman Marcus' 39th full-line specialty store presents a sophisticated and polished image, inside and out.

Located in The Domain, a mixed-use lifestyle center developed by Simon Property Group, the Neiman Marcus is a freestanding stucco-and-stone structure that anchors one end of the development. The bi-level store presents an inviting curved roof overhang and rounded façade on one side. San Antonio-based Alamo Architects designed the structure, coordinating with Dallas-based RYA Design Consultancy for the store interior and Westlake Village, Calif.-based Integrated Lighting Concepts for both the interior and exterior lighting.

RYA's Mike Wilkins, who has served as partner-in-charge for numerous Neiman Marcus projects (including this one), points out that individual stores are influenced by the surrounding natural and built environment. The legendary Stanley Marcus pioneered the modernist architectural look for Neiman Marcus' portfolio of branches. "They can be described as having their own distinctive 'suburban international' style," Wilkins says.

For the Austin store's exterior, Bernard Bauer, principal of Integrated Lighting Concepts, emphasized entries and architectural features by combining LEDs for the signs and soft illumination on the building's face from cold cathode. Before construction could commence, the city's Building Department had to understand and approve Bauer's lighting program, which required presentations of detailed plans and calculations. "The interpretation of the Texas Energy Code by the local review board can make or break the schedule for a retail project," Bauer emphasizes. He documented the guideline that gives high-end retail a higher overall wattage per square foot for accent lighting and specialty areas—more than what is needed by big-box, mass-market operations. The plan's rationale and design objective was to deliver a signature Neiman Marcus ambience combined with an energy-efficient program.

"We explained that the code allows for extra wattage needed to power accent lights that can go up to a five-to-one brightness contrast level above the ambient illumination reading," Bauer says. They submitted photos showing how lighting was used in other Neiman Marcus stores, renderings of the proposed Austin floor layouts, plans showing the placement of lighting and fixtures, and a detailed set of calculations. "The officials could then grasp the lighting system's rationale and approve it for implementation," Bauer explained.

Three illumination levels give the Austin store a program that is integrated with the architecture and the merchandise presentation. The ambient level of 40 to 50 footcandles for such sections as cosmetics, sportswear and men's, contributes quality overall visibility to the interior environment. For couture, decorative home and designer shops, the base level is in the 20- to 30-footcandle range. For overhead ambient illumination, Bauer points out that Neiman Marcus prefers single-lamp fixture luminaires rather than multihead fixtures. The implied difference by the use of single fixtures is more in line with Neiman Marcus' top-tier retailer image, he notes.

Adding to the general light level is cove lighting supplied by T5, 3,000°K fluorescent lamps with a color rendering index (CRI) rated at 80-85. "Cove lighting is soft and diffused, and provides approximately one-half of the general lighting, which reduces the number of openings for downlights in the ceiling," Bauer says. To assure a continuous light pattern in the coves, fixture provider Bartco Lighting marks each group shipped for accurate placement by the installers. The size of the cove and its location in the store determines the length of the fixture and the lamp wattage: 2 ft. long = 14 watts; 3 ft. long = 21 watts; or 4 ft. long = 28 watts.

Energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures do have a place in high-end retail when used in tandem with the architecture, Bauer suggests. For recessed wall displays in the women's shoe department, T5, 3,000°K fixtures are out of sight, concealed under valences at the ceiling line and under shelves. Fluorescent lamps line showcases, providing a shadowless balanced 80-footcandle light level. A whiter fluorescent lamp of 3,500°K adds drama to the jewelry displays.

Tops of showcases and display tables are accented with approximately 80 footcandles, emanating from tungsten halogen PAR 38/HIR 80-watt narrow-beam lamps. "They are almost a spot lamp, to concentrate on the surface and not spill the light," Bauer explains.

In the cosmetics department, the light level is increased so customers can examine the products in a daylight-like setting. "This is the five-to-one accent light ratio—250 footcandles of illumination when the base lighting is 40-50 footcandles—that we mentioned in our presentation to the building department," Bauer says.

The architects brought daylighting into the interior through several full-height glass windows on the first floor, a central light well above the escalators, and windows in the dressing rooms—which are called "personal selling areas" at Neiman Marcus. Light-reflecting materials, such as the polished white stone flooring used in several sections, help to boost the light output from artificial and natural sources. The store achieved a 3-watts-per-sq.-ft. average light level for the store's selling floors and support spaces.