Art Gallery of Alberta -Lighting & Electrical

The electrical systems have also been designed to accommodate the most stringent gallery environmental conditions and for energy efficiency. The new lighting system, for example, manages energy usage and maintenance through a building-wide dimming system. Selective dimming allows less power consumption and extends lamp life.

For the galleries’ display lighting, extensive and programmable dimming controls (for creating multiple scene settings) were designed and installed. The light track is flexible to allow curators the freedom to manage diverse collections and focus on enhancing the artwork. Each gallery has precisely spaced, non-dominant layouts — washing walls, lighting corners, and lighting objects away from walls. Ultra-violet sensitive lighting appliances were used in the galleries.

The signature lighting motif in the building is the atrium stair’s “lightfin.” Doubling as a donor display wall and as iconography for the vertical circulation, the feature’s backlit panels light the stair via programmable colourchanging LED fixtures.

Systems such as the fire alarm, sprinkler systems, egress lighting, security systems, and an emergency generator were selected for both life safety and to protect the artifacts.