Hasbro's global corporate headquarters in Pawtucket, RI, hums with the creativity one expects from a top toy maker. The one-story brick building, a former A&P supermarket, blends a sophisticated corporate image with a feeling of uniqueness. Architect Lindsay Boutros-Ghali, AIA, principal of Boston-based Lindsay Associates Inc., says, "Fostering interaction among the senior executives, as well as bringing them together in one facility, were key concerns of the company."
The 29,000-sq.-ft (2,610 sq. m) facility, which opened late last year, has specialized and distinctive spaces. A visitor passes through the entryway into the wedge-shaped lobby, which is bordered by similarly shaped offices that surround a two-story landscaped atrium. The atrium is like the hub of a bicycle wheel. The eight senior executive offices radiate from the hub, as though separated by the spokes of the wheel.
The corridor that encircles all the offices and their associated secretarial niches also provides access to other areas. The remaining space (approximately 1/3 of the building) contains offices for corporate communications and investor relations, a large piazza adjacent to dining areas, a fully equipped kitchen to support receptions, and rooms for meetings and teleconferencing. Hasbro toys and games, like Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, and many models, are on display in decorative illuminated alcoves and in offices. An extensive art collection is also part of the facility.
Imaginative interior design, natural maple stained casework and moldings, and bright, bold colors evoke the fun of toys. Boutros-Ghali integrated daylight to reinforce the company's creative nature, by adding windows, glass doors, and skylights. "This has implicit costs. Besides the obvious, such as constructing the skylights, there is the glare and extreme brightness of daylight. There needs to be a sense of balance, and contrast needs to be controlled. There is also a myth that daylight only is needed in a space, but daylight is just a component of a balanced lighting and design scheme." Lighting designer Matthew Tanteri supplied other components.
The wedge-shaped offices are all the same size, except for the chairman's, which is larger. All have one wall of special Vision Glass that can be switched on or off, providing privacy, and all are affected by the sunlight that streams in from the bright and spacious atrium. Says Tanteri, "A critical design concept was that there be no direct sunlight on a desk. Equally important was that I didn't want anyone being aware of the lighting fixtures in the office, or elsewhere in the facility. This project required an integrated approach to both artificial and natural light."
Opposite the atrium wall is a skylight and light well for each office. The direct sunlight overhead enters the office and is "bounced" from the light well to the ceiling and into the office area. Tanteri installed Linear Lighting's indirect asymmetric 4' fluorescent fixtures with Osram Sylvania T8/830 lamps to even out the light above the cove. The same fluorescent fixtures and lamps were specified for installation into and below the cove to reduce the amount of contrast as compared to the ceiling.
Two Rambusch wall-mounted indirect fixtures with Philips PL-T 42W 30/4P CFLs are aimed at the 12'-high (4m) ceiling and are installed on the wall perpendicular to the atrium wall and are located above the product shelves, away from direct view by visitors. Kurt Versen recessed medium-beam CFL downlights with 6" apertures and Osram Sylvania CF42DT/830 lamps were placed in the ceiling, and create an even distribution of light within the office. "The CFLs warm up the space, and make it more pleasing and give more color. The T8 linear fluorescent lamps are also close in color to the CFLs, so everything blends," Tanteri says.
Accent lighting of the display shelves is provided by two Modular 12V recessed adjustable accent fixtures with spread lenses and Osram Sylvania 50W AR-111 lamps. These different lighting fixtures were designed for specific applications. Tanteri notes, "The Rambusch indirect fixture with the 42W CFL is a great example of having a reflector engineered for the size of a specific lamp. The reflector was large enough to accommodate the 42W CFL and get great asymmetric distribution from a relatively low-wattage lamp."
Tanteri designed each office with three separate layers of light, each with a distinct purpose. Though common in theatrical applications, this layering is unusual for commercial lighting projects. Each layer can stand separately or be added together for a greater effect.
The LD developed an even wash layer consisting of the fluorescent downlights, which creates a calm, professional environment. The dramatic layer, which consists of the Rambusch indirect uplighting and the lighting above and below the cove (separately switched), provides a sophisticated ambiance. This layer is also designed to complement the daylighting. The third layer, also separately switched, is the accent lighting, which can be compared to a spotlight in the theatre--important to have, but not an absolute necessity. "The intention was to balance the light in the space and generate an atmosphere that supports creativity, even if a few extra fixtures were needed," says Tanteri. There are no automated sensors for the offices, so each user can adjust the lighting to individual preference.
The 60'-high (18m) atrium contains bamboo trees, a fountain, and large boulders. It creates a focal point for each office and connects the company with the world outside. Creating a natural environment and maintaining favorable conditions for plants, besides providing a pleasing ambiance for receptions, were major considerations of the lighting design.
The plants require a minimum of 700fc to flourish. During the winter months, the available daylight needs to be supplemented to reach these levels. An automated astronomical time clock system in concert with a tri-level (high, medium, and low) ballast for a Wide-Lite plant floodlight with Osram Sylvania 1,000W lamps compensates for seasonal fluctuations in the amount and quality of daylight in the atrium. All the ballasts are remotely located so there is no noise in the atrium.
The Hasbro horticulturist programs the plant lighting system. The time clock is equipped with a daylight photosensor, and the metal-halide lighting compensates for the deficiencies inherent in atrium environments. As the plants mature, the light requirements change, and the system can respond to these adjustments. However, the receptionist has a master on/off for override of the time clock, thereby turning off the very bright overhead lights needed for the bamboo trees and allowing for a different look more suited for corporate events.
Specially aimed PAR-56 quartz lights, hidden in the cupola, highlight the boulders and the fountain at night. There are also two concentric rings of Architectural Landscape Lighting fixtures using Philips CDM 35/PAR-30/M/SP10 lamps, installed in the planters, for contrast and dramatic lighting of the garden at night.
Similarly, two types of Architectural Landscape Lighting fixtures are installed in the piazza. "Lower-wattage [35W] lamps are used to avoid melting your shoes, and a glare shield allows for comfortable viewing, if one is in the beam of light," Tanteri notes. Kurt Versen square downlights with Osram Sylvania 50PAR-30/NFL30s are installed in the specially designed wood grid ceiling.
Adding color and suspended over a serving counter are four Luceplan USA decorative pendant fixtures lit with 100W incandescent A-lamps. Tanteri used red, orange, deep blue, and yellow diffusers to bring color into the piazza. Large suspended wall art is illuminated by a series of ceiling-mounted Lighting Services one-circuit track systems using MR-16, PAR-36, PAR-38, PAR-64, and other track fixtures from the company. Tanteri selected them based on analysis of the art, lumens desired, and published photometric data of the fixtures and their associated lamps. Extras were purchased so that future art acquisitions could be accommodated.
The top of the atrium is visible from the street and its veneer matches the lattice work that screens the roof-mounted air conditioning equipment on the other side of the building. The lattice work is complemented by the wood trellises in front of the narrow, arched windows that face the parking lot. At night, the glow from the atrium is reminiscent of the spacecraft from Star Trek; this is achieved by Kim floodlights with Venture blue-tinted 175W metal-halide lamps. "The use of color complements the bricks and makes something ugly attractive. In addition, the glow from the interior lights the skylights and contributes to the effect," Tanteri says. He specified a floodlight fixture with a diffuser frame so that the color could be added with dichroic glass instead of through the lamp. He also aimed each floodlight and supervised their mounting locations so the lighting effect is even, creating a surreal glow that matches other elements of the exterior lighting.
The exterior walls of the building have small Louis Poulsen luminaires with opal diffusers and Philips CDM70 MasterColor lamps to provide pedestrian and building accent lighting. The Louis Poulsen fixtures are painted to match the color of the brick and lend a nautical feel that complements the lattice work that is on the roof, which partially screens the windows. There is minimal exterior signage to clutter the building, so the illumination is clean and simple.
For its work on Hasbro, Lindsay Associates won a design award from the Boston Society of Architects. Says Boutros-Ghali, "The client was delighted with the project. They were amazed at the space." Imagine: The executives charged with developing new toys to put smiles on the faces of children now have smiles of their own, caused by the collaboration of an architect and a lighting designer.
Architect Lindsay Boutros-Ghali, AIA, Lindsay Associates, Inc.
Lighting Designer Matthew Tanteri, Tanteri & Associates
Electrical Contractor Consolidated Electrical Services
Equipment List Kurt Versen recessed 120V PAR downlights Kurt Versen recessed 12V AR-111 accent lights Kurt Versen wallwash fixtures Modular recessed 12V adjustable accent AR-111 fixtures Lighting Services 3100 Series surface- and stem-mounted 1-circuit track Lighting Services 3100 Series track fixtures Engineered Lighting Products wall-recessed CFL fixtures Legion Lighting recessed indirect/direct fluorescent fixtures Alpha Lighting recessed prismatic lensed fluorescent fixtures Linear Lighting recessed wallwash fluorescent fixtures Linear Lighting surface-mounted linear wraparound lensed fluorescent fixtures Legion Lighting surface-mounted industrial-style fluorescent fixtures Legion Lighting surface-mounted vaportight fluorescent fixtures Rambusch wall-mounted indirect compact fluorescent fixtures Architectural Landscape Lighting floor-recessed 120V metal-halide fixtures Architectural Landscape Lighting floor-recessed 12V AR-111 accent fixtures Specialty Lighting Industries floor-recessed 12V MR-16 accent fixtures Wide-Lite truss-mounted 1,000W accent plant floodlights Wide-Lite 2-channel programmable time clock Wide-Lite 3-channel adjustable photocell controller Wide-Lite pole-mounted 100W metal-halide area luminaires with photocells Linear Lighting crescent 4' and 8' suspended indirect fluorescent fixtures Designplan wall-recessed MR-16 skylight accents Shaper wall-surface-mounted vestibule CFL accent fixtures Limberg wall-mounted CFL decorative luminaires Limberg ceiling- and wall-mounted fluorescent luminaires Luceplan USA Costanza decorative incandescent pendant fixtures Canle ceiling-mounted CFL closet fixtures Kim Lighting exterior rooftop metal-halide floodlights with photocells Lightalarms recessed wall and ceiling LED exit signs Louis Poulsen exterior wall-mounted metal-halide luminaires with opal diffusers Crouse-Hinds exterior timer-controlled wall-mounted metal-halide luminaires Lutron control systems Lutron Hi-Lume dimming ballasts Osram Sylvania CFLs Osram Sylvania T8/830 linear fluorescent lamps Osram Sylvania 1,000W metal-halide lamps Osram Sylvania MR-16, AR-111, and PAR lamps Philips 3000K 42W and 32W CFLs Philips MasterColor metal-halide lamps Venture designer color series 175W metal-halide lamps