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Commercial Lighting Case Studies
735 Montgomery Street

735 Montgomery Street

Architect

Rakhee Shah and Grant Koniski for Costa Brown Architecture

Lighting specifier

Rakhee Shah and Grant Koniski

Client

735 Montgomery Street

Location

San Francisco, California

Date of completion

December 15, 2022

Who is the lighting designer and/or specifier for this project? In other words, who chose the lighting?

Architects Rakhee Shah and Grant Koniski at Costa Brown Architecture designed the project and are responsible for selecting and specifying the lighting.

Costa Brown designers used interior lights to brighten the office lobby at 735 Montgomery Street, which has limited sunlight from the windows facing the street

What was the lighting design goal for this project?

To create a warm, bright interior office building lobby space, making the main entrance lobby look and feel welcoming, giving it a contemporary design style. The intent was to draw the vision of people on the sidewalk toward the far end of the lobby, making the lobby feel visually connected and secure for anyone entering the building—and vice versa, making the exit visible from the inside. By using lighting fixtures ranging from wall-mounted up/down lights, decorative pendants, and indirect lighting at stair treads, to ceiling surface-mounted cylinders and linear lights that fit between the featured wood slat ceiling, the intent was to create a play of light on surfaces, highlighting material textures that draw the eye throughout the lobby.

Slim Cove LED Light

This sleek, low-profile cove LED light integrates seamlessly into small spaces, delivering 500 lumens per foot with 4-in-1 dimming and uniform light distribution.

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Linear pendant and wall lights, along with cylinder pendant lights, create a bright, welcoming atmosphere in the elevator lobby space of 735 Montgomery Street

What was the lighting challenge?

The lobby is narrow and deep, fronting a street—located in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Jackson Square neighborhood with tall, canopied trees and tall, adjacent buildings—which made it challenging to draw natural light into the innermost spaces. By creating a glass storefront and adding lights, Costa Brown architects were able to achieve the client’s desired brightness to the lobby interior.

A combination of linear ceiling lights, cylinder downlights and indirect stair treading lighting illuminates the office lobby stairway at 735 Montgomery Street

Costa Brown architects say their goal was to create a bright, welcoming environment even in the innermost spaces of the 735 Montgomery Street office lobby

How do the products and/or Alcon Lighting achieve the desired outcome?

The client was looking to enhance the property‘s curbside appeal in a historic downtown neighborhood. The main entry was inset from the sidewalk, making it dark and unwelcoming with dated finishes. Costa Brown architects achieved their goal by creating a bright, welcoming entrance lobby, adding square footage to the interior, making the lobby bigger, brighter and better by visually and spatially connecting the space to the streetfront, increasing curb appeal.

4-Inch Linear Recessed Linear LED Light

This trimless, linear recessed downlighting in architectural-grade construction for interior soffit application comes with a variety of options with this strip lighting product.

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Alcon 12100-40-W LED Linear 4-inch Wall Light

The specification grade Continuum 40 Architectural Direct and Indirect Wall Mount LED Linear Lighting delivers continuous clean lines and clear wall light to commercial, hospitality and residential interior wall lighting applications.

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Alcon 11235-DIR LED Cylinder Ceiling Light

Our direct architectural ceiling downlight provides versatile, low-glare, cylindrical lighting. This product is for either indoor or outdoor commercial or retail use.

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Closeup of the office light fixtures in the 735 Montgomery Street lobby, which include cylinder downlights, pendant lighting, linear lights, and wall-mounted up and down lights

“The lobby is narrow and deep, fronting a street—located in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Jackson Square neighborhood with tall, canopied trees and tall, adjacent buildings—which made it challenging to draw natural light into the innermost spaces.”

What are some unique considerations when designing for a commercial lobby?

The intent was to create a bright, contemporary entrance lobby by capturing the dark, recessed, exterior space, extending the lobby to the sidewalk. The space is visible from all access points, maintaining visual connection with the streetfront outside, making it feel safe, warm and welcoming. The design palette is minimal. Textures add visual contrast. The lighting accentuates the space.

Good lighting design accounts for the nature and needs of those inhabiting any space. As a concept, human-centric lighting addresses the physiological impact of artificial and natural lighting on the individual. The human-centric lighting design goal is to integrate lighting technology and design principles for better harmony with the natural daily cycle of daylight and darkness. The result? Reduced stress, a lighter mood and better performance.