Share this page:

Cuyahoga County Court House

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

It might be almost a century old, but the Cuyahoga County Court House in Cleveland has a new, enhanced look to highlight its majestic exterior. Dedicated back in January of 1912, the classic structure was previously illuminated by simple wall sconces near the entrances, which served as the building's only exterior lighting. Today the structure is awash with light and color to showcase its distinguished architectural features without overpowering them. The secret? Selective column uplighting combined with intelligent LED illumination from Color Kinetics.

According to lighting designer Rita Koltai of TEC, Inc. Consulting Engineers, "We were challenged to give this landmark building a strong presence within the Cleveland skyline and find a lighting system that would provide long life, low maintenance, energy efficiency, and a wide variety of lighting effects." Koltai chose ColorBlast® systems from Color Kinetics to achieve colorful, eye-pleasing effects. Designed for both indoor and outdoor applications, ColorBlast systems generate millions of colors and programmable effects to wash walls with rich, colored light and movement.The design called for uplighting the building's columns with low-wattage, ceramic metal halide lamps to establish structural mass and draw attention toward the central balconies and historic statues above. Six ColorBlast systems, mounted to the back of each balcony railing on both the north and south facades, provide dynamic, color-changing effects to complement the rhythm of the column uplighting in a unique way.

Using Color Kinetics' ColorPlay® authoring software, a variety of lighting effects are programmed according to seasonal themes and special occasions. Color Kinetics' iPlayer® 2 and Controller Keypad are used to control the systems' effects in unison, including a dignified, 30-second fade between red, white, and blue, a faster-paced patriotic effect to celebrate the 4th of July, and a red and green display for the December holidays. The systems can also be triggered to generate a preset color wash, chasing rainbow, random color displays, and customized programs for special events.

Thanks to the high-tech benefits of intelligent LED illumination, the Cuyahoga County Court House now highlights its historic elegance with a colorful touch.