Unveiled in January 2013, the Anaheim Convention Center Grand Plaza—once a throughway for taxis and buses—is now a dramatic and expansive pedestrian mall and outdoor event space. The award-winning design pays tribute to the area’s agricultural roots, while also maintaining a festive feel—fitting given the plaza’s proximity to Disneyland, which is across the street.
Measuring 1,400 feet in length and 120 feet in width, the plaza features three fountains, 60 fresh orange groves, 151 new palm trees, and outdoor event space unified by a River of Light theme—including a stretch of blue pavers that simulate the flowing Santa Ana River. Flanking the plaza just outside the convention center entrance, concrete seat walls underlit with iLight Plexineon White 1X Series LED fixtures add to the theme by contributing a stunning glow to the $15 million project.
The Design Challenge
Plexineon’s role in the landscape of light is to highlight the boundaries of the plaza.
“We wanted to create a layered look and bring attention down to ground level,” says Kaitlin LeSage Crawford, lighting designer at studioK1, the in-house lighting design studio within engineering firm tk1sc.
For LeSage Crawford, the decision to integrate Plexineon under the seat wall was an easy one. She previously had employed the fixtures for other exterior projects.
“We needed a linear glow that would bend, following the curves of the benches,” she says. “Besides being flexible, the product also had to be wet listed. Plexineon fulfilled both requirements.”
Practical considerations aside, Plexineon’s high-quality illumination was key to making it the go-to product.
“It’s a soft, consistent light—with no hot spots—and the lens softens the light distribution, which was important. We didn’t just want to illuminate the underside of the benches. We wanted to spread the light out onto the ground surrounding the benches.”
The effect, LeSage Crawford says, is just what she was looking for. “The Plexineon allowed us to ‘frame’ the space and create a boundary surrounding the River of Light.”
