The Redmond Library

Designed as a "living room" for the community, the Redmond Library emanates a residential feel while boldly serving its civic duties. The facility is nestled within a quiet neighborhood, and light trespass was a concern from the project's infancy. The lighting was engineered with precise internal shielding and recessed optics to ensure the building serves as a soft landmark while strictly respecting the dark-sky integrity of the surrounding homes.

The primary interior challenge was the acoustic dowel-laminated timber (DLT) ceiling. Without ceiling cavities to conceal hardware, the team performed a surgical coordination exercise with structural and MEP teams. Every fixture, conduit, and fire sprinkler was mapped to align with the timber rhythm and skylight openings. This was most critical at the central stair, where the lighting had to deliver a 10fc egress minimum while simultaneously illuminating a 48-foot-wide suspended sculpture. To add a visual punch and pull out the artwork's unique texture, the team integrated lilac gels into the sculpture’s accent lighting. This color shift provides a cool-toned contrast to the warm wood, emphasizing the sculpture's dimensionality. 

In public zones, six-foot-diameter pendants establish scale within the double-height volume; these fixtures were customized to ensure zero interference with fire sprinkler spray patterns. Functional precision extends to the automated book sorting room, where a high-output task approach ensures visual acuity for staff operations. Under a Net Zero Energy framework, the system utilizes granular controls and daylight harvesting to adapt to the Central Oregon sky. By navigating the friction between life-safety codes and structural constraints, the design proves that technical lighting excellence is most effective when it is seamlessly absorbed into the architectural fabric.