Thaden School

“The exterior composition is well done, and each space has a unique solution.” —Juror Chrysanthi Stockwell, HGA

For the Thaden School, in Bentonville, Ark., TM Light turned architectural elements into armatures for light at multiple scales. At the heart of campus, linear LED fixtures concealed in the punched roof openings of the “Reels” Administrative and Arts Building, designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, transform porch skylights into lanterns at night. A plywood roof serves as a continual reflector of light throughout the building, warmed by in-grade uplights at the porches, highlighted by concealed linear grazers at the corridors, and washed by direct/indirect pendants at the classrooms. Light intrinsic to the space and material of the building also occurs on the detail scale; the lockers in the corridor are illuminated by linear LEDs integrated into a custom metal shelf extrusion.

The rooting of the lighting within the architectural fabric amplifies in scale at the Barn building, which anchors the campus’s eastern portion visually and provides a large flexible space for sports and gatherings. Mimicking the appearance of lighting leaking from a dilapidated barn, the façade spacing is modulated to allow the entire building to glow in the landscape.

Details
Project Name: Thaden School
Location: Bentonville, Ark.
Client/Owner: Thaden School
Lighting Designer: TM Light • Alex Miller, Aoife O’Leary
Architect: Marlon Blackwell Architects • Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, Meryati Johari Blackwell, AIA, Josh Matthews, AIA, Bradford Payne, AIA, Spencer Curtis, AIA, Steve Reyenga, Assoc. AIA
Photographer: Timothy Hursley

Project Size: 34,000 square feet
Project Cost: N/A
Lighting Cost: $ 408,000
Watts per Square Foot: 0.85
Code Compliance: Arkansas 2014 Energy Code
Lighting Product Manufacturers: Elemental LED, Ecosense, Nulite, Bega, Elemental LED, Lucifer Lighting Co.

• 2020 AL Light & Architecture Design Awards

  This year's program recognized 10 thoughtfully conceived and well executed projects in the U.S. and U.K.

  

• Mori Hosseini Student Union, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

  Outstanding Achievement • Whole Building Lighting • Design Team: Fisher Marantz Stone, Ikon.5 Architects

  

• Co-Op Ramen

  Outstanding Achievement • Interior Lighting • Design Team: TM Light, Marlon Blackwell Architects

  

• “Gather,” Seattle Asian Art Museum

  Outstanding Achievement • Exhibition Lighting and Installations • Lighting Designer: Studio 1Thousand

  

• Pacific Palisades Residence

  Commendable Achievement • Whole Building Lighting • Design Team: HLB Lighting Design, ShubinDonaldson, Magni Kalman Design, AHBE | MIG

  

• Thaden School

  Commendable Achievement • Whole Building Lighting • Design Team: TM Light, Marlon Blackwell Architects

  

• Allianz Field

  Commendable Achievement • Exterior Lighting • Design Team: Illume, Populous

  

• Bicentennial Hall

  Commendable Achievement • Interior Lighting • Design Team: Stroik Lighting Design, Bowie Gridley Architects, RAM Design Studio

  

• Relighting Norwich Cathedral’s Interior

  Commendable Achievement • Interior Lighting • Lighting Designer: Speirs + Major

  

• “Brainbow,” Michigan State University Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building

  Commendable Achievement • Exhibition Lighting and Installations • Design Team: SmithGroup