Architecture • Engineering • Planning • Forensic Services

As part of the complete reconstruction of the main plaza of The Adler Planetarium, the largest planetarium and astronomical museum in the world, that included the installation of new granite paving and a waterproofing system to protect the underground museum below, we redesigned the plaza lighting to improve the overall illumination and to highlight the large cast bronze Henry Moore sundial located in the center of the plaza.

Entitled "Man Enters the Cosmos", the 1980 Moore sculpture is a functional bowstring equatorial sundial that was set between the granite stairs of the original 1930 National Historic and Chicago Landmark planetarium building on the east and the 1970 main public entry building to the west. Our lighting for the sundial incorporated cast bronze uplights set flush into the raised granite platform of the sundial that highlighted the sculpture at night. The new pole-mounted plaza lighting fixtures were set at the perimeter of the plaza and designed to distribute light uniformly across the plaza with only minimal spillover into the streets and greater lighting levels for pedestrians at the curbs and the main building entrance. Granite bollards were set at the two open sides of the plaza to provide protection from buses and other vehicles.

The project was recognized by the International Illumination Design Awards Program of the Illumination Engineering Society of North America