Built in 1989, the office building at 1425 Rte. Transcanadienne sits in a high-traffic location along Montreal’s Highway 40 and adjacent service roads. Energy and maintenance cost savings were the main drivers behind the building owner’s decision to upgrade both the interior and exterior lighting at the four-story structure.

Landmark Properties manages the 75,000 sq.ft. building as part of its extensive Quebec portfolio. The property management team approached Concept Illumination to propose a lighting upgrade.

Landmark had worked with Concept Illumination on several other projects and the team was confident in the company’s ability to devise an effective lighting solution that met the budgetary constraints of the project.

The current lighting scheme was a mix of older metal halide and high-pressure sodium lighting. Energy bills were escalating, repair costs were high, and there had been water infiltration concerns in some exterior fixtures.

Concept Illumination was tasked with developing a lighting strategy for the parking lot, driveway, building exterior, and interior entrance and lobby. The Concept Illumination team then worked with a local electrical contractor to bring the project to life, ensuring that everything was compatible with the infrastructure.

The parking lot consisted of twelve fixtures on six poles. The poles were in two different sizes, so it was important to verify the appropriate mounting hardware for each.

Updating the perimeter lighting along the driveway and pathways was key, as this outdoor space is highly visible from the busy service road and highway. Replacing the twenty-three bollards was cost-prohibitive, so Concept Illumination’s solution was to retrofit them with 4000K high output A21 LED bulbs. Wallpacks were replaced around side entrances and loading docks with high performance, long life, low maintenance LED equivalents.

Moving inside, fifty-four light bulbs at the entrance and in the atrium lobby were replaced with 3000K PAR38 and PAR20 LED bulbs. Concept Illumination also added four architectural cylinders in the lobby to provide a modern, welcoming space for visitors and employees entering the facility.

Perhaps the most dramatic transformation, though, occurred with the replacement of ten floodlights on the ground around the perimeter of the building.  Most of the old floodlights had stopped working so the building was essentially hidden at night.  With the installation of the new LED luminaires, attention is now drawn to the building, adding value to the owner and its tenants.

Daniel Herz, leading the project for Concept Illumination, credits the success of the project to rigorous planning prior to the project start.

“We thoroughly reviewed the facility and the various spaces to be illuminated,” said Herz. “Then, our team carefully selected products that ensured uniformity in terms of colour temperature and aesthetic design of the products themselves. We achieved a look and feel that is homogenous across the exterior and interior lighting installations, which wasn’t an easy task because of the vastly different spaces we were illuminating.”

The building owner can be confident that its tenants and visitors have a safe and secure passage around the building, pathways and parking lot, regardless of the time of day. Energy savings and reduced maintenance costs will be realized for years to come. The lighting has given the facade a fresh new look observed by thousands of drivers who pass by the facility every night.