Commercial Applications

Case study: Benetton

The lighting designers planning Benetton’s Fifth Avenue store wanted a lighting system that could handle both architectural as well as retail lighting. They chose the Lutron GRAFIK Eye 4000 Series system of preset light control. They got a system that dimmed as well as switched various sources, adjusted to daylight changes from season to season, and operated without constant direction.

The challenge:

Create a retail lighting environment while taking into account architectural lighting techniques for an historical city landmark. Owners wanted an easy-to-operate light control system that was flexible enough for changes in needs as well as in daylight due to seasonal changes.
Benetton Space Lighting

Project requirements:

  • Sequence lights for retail applications
  • Allow hands-free operation so lighting system operates without constant human direction
  • Control heavy lighting loads and various sources (including fluorescent)
  • Save lamp life, energy

Benetton Exterior Lighting
When Benetton, the international retailer, moved into the old Charles Scribner’s Sons Bookstore on Fifth Avenue in New York City, they wanted to preserve the historical address as well as create an unforgettable retail space. They needed a light control system that balanced out the retail space and took into account the architecture – high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the store with light, and three floors of large selling space.

With the Lutron 4000 Series of GRAFIK Eye preset light controls, they were able to accomplish this and more. With the Lutron system, designers were able to set up an after-hours night scene that illuminated the space differently than during the day and that stayed on well after closing, changing again sometime after midnight.

During store hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., they preset scenes for time-of-day lighting, sequencing them automatically from one to another for more focused retail lighting.

“A big plus for the system – on top of ‘painting’ the space in various ways at different times of the day – is the extended lamp life,” said Michael Castelli, an associate with Hillman DiBernardo, the lighting designers on the project. “These are expensive lamps that really needed to be stretched in life as much as possible.”

The ability to sequence the lighting using a hands-free operation was a big part in choosing the Lutron system for the job. The astronomic timeclock is set in advance, so the system comes on and automatically changes scenes based on calendar days and times. “There are so many other things for store personnel to do and think about in a retail environment,” said Castelli. “With this system, the lighting is taken care of.”
Benetton Interior Lighting

Most retail interiors are lighted through brute force, said Castelli. “There are tons of lighting fixtures that bombard the products with light. We wanted a lighting system that took the space into account and was not overpowered by the retail aspect of it. With the Lutron system, the space came out exactly as planned.”

GRAFIK Eye 4000 Coordinate all of a room’s features with the GRAFIK Eye 4000 for complete control at the touch of a button.
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Products used in this project GRAFIK Eye 4000 XPS

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