GPI International Blog: Beneath the Surface

A pretty typical situation occurred here at GPI this week.  A lighting design firm had specified our Infuse™ flat LED panels for a large commercial project, and the contractor ended up making a substitution in order to try to save some money.  As it turns out, the substituted LED panel product looks absolutely terrible and the entire team, including the client, is very unhappy.  So, we received a slightly panicked email from the architect and lighting designer asking us to step in and solve the problem. 

We suspect that the substituted product was poorly made, but assuming that it wasn't, there's still a host of problems with the application.  Even if all flat LED panels are created equally, this particular LED company did not pay attention to the details, and ultimately wasted a significant amount of time and money.  The problems? Uneven illumination, panels sized incorrectly, bulky hardware that is interfering with the light, and absolutely no attention to light diffusion strategies... the textbook case for our integrated systems and process.

Budget is indeed a critical issue in building construction.  Flat LED panels are typically used in feature areas of buildings, becoming main spatial focal points that are evaluated with a discriminating eye.  So if you're looking to cut costs, it's not always wise to do so in such high-profile areas. 

The lesson here: investing more money up-front in a system from a company that will perform as you expect will help avoid costly replacements and changes down the line.  Many of our designers, especially our repeat clients, realize this value, but it can be difficult to communicate this seemingly intangible value to their clients.  What strategies do you use to convince building owners to invest in high-end products?

The July-August issue of Illuminate magazine opens with a pointed statement in the editor’s letter:

“there’s a chasm between those making LEDs and those attempting to employ them in the built environment”.

Ummm, Mr. Crockett, did you read our minds and/or uncover the fundamental reason GPI exists? There is a huge gap between what Jim Crocker of Illuminate refers to as “chipheads” and the architects/lighting designers that use the products to create emotional and aesthetic impacts on space.  And when we say "huge gap", we mean the a divide the size of the Grand Canyon.  This LED fixture has great performance and controllability, but how do I ensure that it is implemented to achieve the great aesthetic impact as promised in all of the promotional literature?

Designers need guidance, or rather suppliers need to guide designers, on how to integrate fixtures into the custom millwork, detail the attachment systems to hold the LED fixture, and situate the LED fixtures in a manner that allows electricians to easily run low voltage wiring.  When these important steps are ignored, designers just don't achieve the aesthetic they intended.

Manufacturers and designers can speak different languages. The good news is, our staff here at GPI is “multi-lingual” so to speak.  We speak supplier, owner, architect, lighting designer, electrical engineer, and even stone subcontractor. How’s that for bridging the chasm?

Photo Credit: UW Digital Collections via Flickr Creative Commons

Back in architecture school at the University of Cincinnati, my all time favorite project was what the DAAP architecture and interior design students lovingly refer to as “The Box Project”. The task was to design and build a nine foot cubic space in reaction to a piece of music- an intense violin concerto.  What did I love about this studio project so much?

1. Challenged us to translate an intangible abstract concept into built form.

2. We truly worked as a team- from project managers, shipping coordinators, detailers, 3D model builders, and physical model builders- 20 overworked design students attacked this thing in 4 weeks.

3. Being involved from concept through installation was incredibly rewarding.

4. Managing the project to stay on schedule and within budget (a huge learning curve for ambitiously creative freshman with little concept of real-world feasibility).

5. Working with the concepts of layers, tension, light, and transparency.

The most intense moment during the four week design-build duration was when the custom colored acrylic on order from Florida became lost in transport, and we had to make an exasperated last-minute trip to Pat Catans to buy stained glass paint and create the colored panels ourselves!

Looking back on my design career, I can see why my student experienced foreshadowed my exciting experience at GPI- collaborative teamwork, addressing a project from a multiple of angles, and exploring the manipulation of surfaces with reflected and colored light.  The similarities are eerily striking!

What educational experiences provided insight into your ideal career path?

By Caitlin Walsh, Design Director at GPI

Thank you to all those who visited the GPI Design/Marlite booth at Neocon 2010 in Chicago.  Aside from getting many project leads, it was truly rewarding to see the excitement and positive feedback from those who are just learning about us for the first time.  Some memorable quotes from our booth visitors:

"I've been walking around getting all these great creative ideas but not sure how to bring it all together. This is so great!"

"Is that stone real?!"

"Your stones are like using mother nature as art pieces."

"I'd like to use this on my next project, my client wants me to 'pimp his space'!"

"What a great idea! How did you invent this system?" To which we explained that we didn't stumble into this business overnight, we evolved from standard natural stone supply to exotic stone supply to complete integrated systems of surface, structure, and light.

And... the greatest finale was getting a hug and a knuckle pound from two very excited designers who were drawn into our booth just before we began disassembly!

If you missed the show or are back at your office needing inspiration, here is a photographic recap:

Thanks to all of our booth visitors for their positive energy and engaging conversations. See you next year!

Project Update: LED Panels Wired and Installed, Glass is Evenly Backlit

Backlit Glass Columns by GPI | AED Idea Center | Washington, D.C.

Architect: Studio 27 Architecture

Lighting Designer: MCLA

Application: Backlit frosted glass at eight columns

Products: Frosted glass panels, GPI LED Panels at 3500 K, GPI Custom Dimming Packs that communicate with Lutron 5000 Graphic Eye

Integration: Diffuser films to hide lamp image and disguise hot spots, GPI Dimming Packs to balance brightness between large and small panels

Above image indicates construction progress from the field.  Check back for completed photographs when the dimming interface and surrounding finishes are complete!

With Neocon 2010 fast approaching, your head is surely spinning with creative ideas and your desk will soon be filled with samples and swatches. How to bring them all together in a space? That’s the challenge.

GPI will be reviewing new innovative materials in the design world and giving ideas about how ato integrate these materials with our stone finishes. To kick off, we explore carved MDF panels. GPI will be investigating new interior material trends, so stayed tuned through the end of June. 

Carved MDF panels

    
(above images: Volta™ artistic dimensional panels courtesy of Marlite, Inc.)

Qualities: modern, creative, bold, fluid

Appearance: fluid lines, but in a more prominent and geometric pattern than found in stone.  Carvings and surface relief create pronounced shadows, while stone has a flat surface with the depth and layers being brought out when backlit. Carved MDF panels are often lit with grazers to highlight and shadow, while translucent stone and resin have the most pleasing aesthetic when evenly backlit.

Found in: lobbies, feature walls, reception desks, restaurants

Design tip for stone: Choose a more "modern" stone with uninterrupted surface. Distinct veins will compete with the sculptural MDF panels.  Keep both surfaces in the same color scheme or keep the stone to a neutral/white palette.

Design tip for alternative surface: Backlit resins are often well-suited for use adjacent to sculptural MDF panels.  The saturated color and uniform surface match the streamlined aesthetic, while the lightweight nature of resin allows for minimal structure, much like the MDF panels themselves.

Know of a product you’d like us to feature? Send material suggestions to info@gpidesign.com.

Onyx itself is a luxurious material, and when integrated with the proper backlighting techniques the layers and depth of the stone is further brought to life.  You’re investing money and design time into this natural product, so consider the following tips to properly showcase its natural beauty:

1. Choose a stone that has significant visible veining or texture- the natural color and movement will distinguish the high-end natural stone finish from a man-made alternative.

(above image: Maker's Mark backlit onyx bar in Indianapolis by GPI Design)

2. White onyx is the least forgiving stone for backlighting applications.  Backlit white onyx is prone to hot and cold spots, so allow more space between the stone and the lighting source or consider using diffusion scrims and filters.

3. When designing with standard dimensional stone panels, ensure that the light source is bright enough to transfer through the stone surface.

4. When designing with glass-backed stone panels, ensure that the glass is non-leaded.  Leaded glass casts a greenish tint and can alter the color of the natural stone surface.

5. When designing a ceiling or wall layout of backlit onyx panels, consider the book matching composition and how the seams will interact with the natural veining of the stone. (Read our previous blog post on book matching natural stone for more details.)

Designing with light and natural stone comes with its own set of limitations, so take time to mock-up the stone and light assemblies or choose a company with experience in integrating the two products.

We've been hard at work giving our website and branding a face lift. But the redesign is more than aesthetic. We went beneath the surface to retool the ease of navigation, clearly illustrate our past projects and incorporate resources for our customers.

Our process and deliverables are so unique that we needed to overhaul all of our content. We have been digging deep in to our creative minds on how to effectively explain everything that we do!

GPI is a cross between a product manufacturer, lighting design firm, design/build architect, and subcontractor installer that focuses on feature areas of buildings. The areas are typically primary spaces in commercial interiors, such as lobbies or main entrances and utilize translucent stone and light to add artistic flair and distinction to feature the area.

The new website is focused on succinctly explaining our surface and lighting products and process to those of you who have persistent deadlines and routine design challenges. Product technical specifications are more easily accessible for designers and architects. It's not just because we love showcasing our awesome products - we'd rather spend our time really digging into a set of construction drawings and solving design problems than emailing out spec sheets all day!

Please check back often on our ever-expanding blog for the newest trends in translucent surfaces, hospitality design and GPI company news. We look forward to releasing some interesting new project installations in the upcoming months as we have many exciting projects out for bid at the moment!

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