Lighting Design and Retrofit with Eletronic Theater Controls

Many years ago I had a vision of creating backlit fabric panels to replace the worn ceiling tiles suspended between the classical walnut millwork. The unique architecture of my family’s restaurant had become a room out of commission since the pandemic. The new potential use of it would be a private party space of the overall banquet venue. After several months of experimentation and collaboration, I found a way to materialize the project.

I had a carpenter build frames to fit the “pie wedges” of the millwork that used to be full of popcorn ceiling tile.

Then came the skills of artisan Patricio, a tailor who has upholstered and reupholstered numerous pieces for Knowles Hospitality for decades. He wrapped them in tough IRF screen fabric after we did several light diffusion tests with multiple fabrics for stage arts.

After affixing the LED strips to the frames instead of above ceiling, the electrical crew started wiring in the devices around the room for the ETC system.

Another crew milled the decorative frames that function as supports for the removable light box wedges.