The Legacy Chapel in Madison, Ala., has blended historical artwork with modern LED technology from Nora Lighting to create illuminated rose windows.
The circular 10-foot wide windows, featuring scenes from the life of Christ, were originally created more than 60 years ago for a church in Decatur, Ala.
When that church was demolished, the traditional windows were dismantled and transported to The Little Glass House, a stained glass studio operated by artist Kelly Martindale in Huntsville, Ala.
Martindale removed each pane, then cleaned, repaired and restored all sections of glass, while adding new leading for stability. Along with the two rose windows, she refurbished eight vertical glass windows, also placed within the chapel.
While the artist worked on the windows, there was discussion on how to illuminate the artwork. Because the chapel is situated within the interior of the Legacy Funeral Home, there is no sunlight access. Additionally, the windows needed to be illuminated in the evening when services are often held.
The construction team, headed by Mike Campbell of Development Construction in Huntsville, originally tried tape light, but it did not produce the overall illumination desired. The project called for a creative solution.
Enter LED lighting consultant Tony Hodge of Mahalo Inc. in Marietta, Ga. Hodge is the Nora Lighting representative for the southeastern U.S. and specializes in LED solutions.
He teamed up with Huntsville electrical supplier InLine Lighting to make the project work. The Inline Lighting team included Harvey Fest of Business Development, Rodney Johnson of the Commercial Division, who devised the electrical plan, and Kathy Turner, who designed the decorative lighting.
The lighting team devised a solution: squared-off structural frames that would be placed behind the window openings. Nora’s rectangular-shaped LED Edge-Lit Panels would fit into the squared-off frames and be hardwired to the power source. The structural frames would also allow rear access to the lighting panels at any time.
Ten structural frames were set in place, one behind each rose window, and eight behind the side panel windows. The two large circular windows required 75 Nora 2-foot by 2-foot LED panels and the vertical stained glass windows utilized 22 Nora 1-foot by 4-foot LED panels.
Additionally, Nora LED Cobalt Series recessed downlights with bronze trims were installed within the chapel ceiling, and more were installed in exterior soffits to illuminate the entry.
“The Edge-Lit Panels were a practical solution,” says Hodge. “The panels feature an opalescent lens with a glow. The LED light is consistent; there are no shadows or heat.
“Because the panels are offered in a range of Kelvin temperatures, we specified the temp that worked best for this installation – 4000K, which delivers dynamic color tones,” he states.
Legacy Chapel Director and Co-owner Mark Slaton, who oversaw the design, was very pleased with the results.
“The rose windows are beautifully illuminated and present a serene and contemplative environment in the chapel,” he said.
Nora’s Edge-Lit LED Series includes three models: 1-foot by 4-foot, 2-foot by 2-foot and 2-foot by 4-foot panels, which can be surface mounted or recessed into T-bar or hard ceilings, or wall frames. A pendant assembly is also available to drop any of the panels up to 8 feet from the mounting surface.
Edge-Lit Panels are a new concept in LED fixtures that illuminate an environment with zonal light without the image of LED diodes. The panels are 120V/277V with a range of wattages, lumens and Kelvin temperatures from 3000 to 5000. They are also dimmable, cULs and DLC listed. Additionally, the panels are sealed and do not require maintenance.