The Saint Paul Hotel, St. Paul, Minn.
RETROFIT TEAM
LIGHTING INSTALLER: Aid Electric Corp.
MANUFACTURER’S REPRESENTATIVE: Mlazgar Associates
LIGHTING SUPPLIER: Viking Electric
MATERIALS
Until recently, The Saint Paul Hotel’s exterior lighting specification was not up to the standards of the trademark style and sophistication of the AAA 4-Diamond multiple award-winning hotel.
Ken Wieber, director of Property Operations at the Saint Paul Hotel, worked with Darren Strafelda, account manager with Mlazgar Associates, for the design development, specification, project management and system commissioning for a new lighting system. Wieber and Strafelda wanted the new lighting to produce a true white color, achieve appropriate brightness and be able to quickly change color.
Through a recommendation from Kathy Foldesi, account manager at Viking Electric, the team tested AL Dot AC RGBW fixtures, a direct view RDM/DMX node, developed and designed by Acclaim Lighting for low-resolution dots of color and dynamic visual effects, for the entire top of the building. AL Dot AC features an internal DMX driver; 120-degree beam angle; and Acclaim’s Spectrum Technology, which allows for true dedicated whites alongside color-changing options.
According to Wieber and Strafelda, the team liked AL Dot’s RGBW color-changing ability with the option to be at 3000K, which will be the “standard” color used by the hotel on most days. The color-changing ability enables The Saint Paul Hotel to set and change scenes throughout the year.
One-hundred-sixty AL Dot AC RGBW nodes were installed around the top of the building. With two screw holes on each side of the fixture, the AL Dot nodes are easy to mount on any surface. The direct view, RDM/DMX node comes with a multipin with five connectors for DMX lead conductors. To maintain the façade’s architectural integrity during installation, the team designed a mounting system that enables for single fixture replacement without disturbing any of the building’s envelope with penetrating hardware.
The IP66-rated AL Dot AC has an aluminum housing that does not attract dust and provides protection in water. The fixtures operate in temperatures between -4 to 123 F and maintain 70 percent of their lumens at 150,000 hours.
“Everyone loves the results,” Wieber says. “We reinforced our position as a showpiece in the city. It changed the look of our hotel by adding sparkle to our elegant building. We are now brighter and more vivid. For us, the building is a major part of our attraction. We are a beautiful historic property with this attractive lighting system on top.”
LIGHTING SYSTEM MANUFACTURER: Acclaim Lighting
THE RETROFIT
Opened and promoted as “St. Paul’s million-dollar hotel” in 1910, the property has hosted dignitaries, leaders and colorful characters from presidents and royalty to movie stars and athletes, including President John F. Kennedy and Charles Lindbergh. The Saint Paul Hotel was designed
by the architectural firm of Reed and Stem, best known for their design of New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
Today, the historic hotel maintains its charm by combining early 20th-century elegance with the convenience of modern 21st-century amenities while offering views of Rice Park and downtown St. Paul.
PHOTOS: Acclaim Lighting