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USA - Blazing flames for Kansas City Power & Light Building

Recognized as one of the finest examples of art deco architecture in the US, this 36-story skyscraper opened in 1931 as the headquarters of the Kansas City Power & Light Company. KCP&L spared no expense with the construction of the building, which features a reinforced concrete structure and an exterior clad in Indiana limestone. The main focus of the tower was, and still is, its eye-catching lighting display, a 21-foot lantern equipped with floodlights to create a luminous, flame-like effect.

The large display windows located on two sides of the building were designed to showcase new electronic devices and appliances to highlight the many uses of electricity. A two-storey interior auditorium was reserved to demonstrations of how electricity could improve people's lives. At its completion, the Power and Light Building was an exciting and impressive monument, which after many years still remains the most recognizable and distinctive landmark in Kansas City's skyline.

Almost obsolescent as an office building, the historic art deco skyscraper has been recently undergoing renovation into modern luxury apartments, which offer an array of lifestyle amenities focused on wellness and comfort. The recent renovation has also involved the outdoor lighting system of the building, which now allows the Kansas City’s skyline icon to be lit in nearly any colour you can dream up.

The walls of KPC&L were originally lit up only in white, with the beacon changing occasionally from blue to red to green to amber. The old copper spotlights - some of them are now hanging from the ceiling above the Beacon Lounge bar, all shiny and polished to their original colour - have been replaced with banks of modern LED lights distributed on 54 spots around the building, eight on the newly restored observation deck and eight inside the beacon. Eight more have been installed inside the glass pinnacle at the very top of the building in order to recreate the original impression of blazing flames.

In order to create this flame-like pattern on the façades of the KCP&L building, an array of Powershine MK2 S RGBW with ultra spot or spot optics and Zaphir in RGBW colour configuration with elliptical wide optics were installed on to the walls of the building. POWERSHINE MK2 S, using 96 powerful RGBW LEDs offers a comprehensive selection of optics and the combination of RGBW LEDs, that provides an unprecedented astonishing white light output quality plus a wider variety of intermediate colour hues for the maximum lighting design flexibility. Developed for refined architectural lighting, ZAPHIR RGBW features 40 RGBW power LEDs, that are capable of delivering a remarkable performance from an extremely compact unit. The comprehensive selection of optics groups available makes this colour changer suitable for a variety of lighting installations which require maximum photometric flexibility. Its capacitive touchscreen display allows for a direct access to all on-board functions.

Thanks to this new computerized LED lighting system, the building turned pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, orange on Halloween. For a couple of days in November, it will go purple for the March of Dimes. It has been blue for the Royals and red for the Chiefs. Last Fourth of July, the building went red, white and blue. Moreover, couples who rent out the newly opened Grand Hall for their weddings can even request the building be lit up in their theme colours. The jewel-like glow of KCP&L building can be seen for miles around, absolutely stunning in its original layout.

Products installed:

Powershine MK2 S spot

Powershine MK2 S ultra spot

Zaphir RGBW Elliptical wide

For more details please contact:

GRIVEN USA

www.griven-usa.com

info@griven-usa.com