News & awards

Two Karpinski Engineering projects earned Awards of Merit in the 2017 IES Illumination Awards program: the Erie County Historical Society Watson-Curtze Mansion and Carriage House and Cleveland State University’s Center for Innovation in Medical Professions.

The Illumination Awards recognize “individuals for professionalism, ingenuity and originality in lighting design based on the individual merit of each entry” (Source). KE Director of Lighting Design Marian K. Perez, LC, MIES, provided lighting design for both projects.

The Watson-Curtze Mansion and Carriage House is a historic home that has been transformed into an integrated history center. Its lighting was redesigned as part of a renovation and expansion project. One of the key design criteria was to illuminate the building’s intricate beauty while retaining its historic character. The resulting lighting design creates a warm ambience, bringing out the Mansion’s rich colors and accentuating custom features such as hand-painted ceilings, Tiffany glass, and carved and pieced woodwork.

The new Center for Innovation in Medical Professions (CIMP) is an academic building geared toward collaboration. It brings together students in medicine, nursing, and health professions. One of CIMP’s focal points is its 3-story atrium, which features a custom wood ceiling shaped like an inverted pyramid (upper left photo). To give the ceiling a warm glow, the lighting design uses theatrical LED lighting. The luminaires were carefully placed and aimed, with filters softening and spreading the light.