Yale Center for British Art Light Replication

Presented to the university by Paul Mellon (Yale College Class of 1929), the Yale Center for British Art houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collections re-flect the development of British art, life, and thought from the Elizabethan period onward. The Center offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions and educational programs, as well as numerous academic resources. The Yale Center for British Art is designed by the internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I. Kahn. Located across the street from his first major commission, the Yale University Art Gallery (1953), the Center was Kahn´s final work and was completed in 1977, three years after his death. In 2005 the Center received the prestigious Twenty-five Year Award of the American Institute of Architects which each year honors a single architectural landmark, completed twenty-five to thirty-five years prior, which has withstood the test of time.

Grand Light was selected to replicate one of the existing historic pendant light fixtures which is original to the architecture of the building. The pendant is a spun, tapered aluminum, shade which was anodized further enhancing the characteristics to the hand spun part. Each component for the fixture was custom made to assure complete historical accuracy to the ones that had been originally made.

In addition to historic pendant replications, Grand Light designed and fabricated custom aluminum LED exit sign replications of existing historic exit signs while also retrofitting those exit signs original to the architecture of the building. Each exit sign has LED circuit boards installed inside the frame along the sides and top and a separate LED downlight board, creating a consistent illuminated face plate and a uniform downlight. Custom glass face-plates, using a specific frame size, stencils, and chevrons, were fabricated to meet UL 925 Standards.

By installing these custom exit signs, the Center maintains its historical architectural accuracy while still upgrading to modern LED lighting technology with improved light levels and efficient energy savings that both employees and visitors can appreciate.

Project Accolades

“The Connecticut Trust was impressed with the recent renovation of the Yale Center for British Art that updated tired finishes and worn-out systems in one of the world’s great buildings while hewing faithfully to Louis Kahn’s original design.”