Edge Lighting Glazing with Hidden Fixtures

Dynamic architectural lighting in urban areas is a key element in creating attractive nighttime icons in addition to potentially generating advertisement revenue for property owners. Modern architecture, especially iconic high-rise buildings, tend to utilize glazing systems to express a clean and polished design theory which creates a big challenge for facade lighting designs. Traditionally, the night view of a city is dominated by flood lighting and dynamic billboards, but neither of these techniques work well with glass facades. Flood lights can only be used on facades with big, solid surface areas since clear glass cannot “catch” or reflect light; LED billboards need extra structural and electrical systems protruding out of the building which breaks the purity of the design. As a result, an integrated design approach, a system with hidden light sources that could achieve a similar effect as the traditional flood lighting, is required.

This paper provides valuable case studies on multiple award-winning high-rise projects and explores the process in selecting, developing, detailing and engineering an integrated LED glazing system in a clean, architectural way. Doing so will not only reduce the construction, maintenance and energy cost, but can also create active, attractive and healthy interior and exterior environments which are profitable to the clients.