Los Angeles-based design studio Project Room has been selected the winner of L.A. Lights the Way -- a first-of-its kind competition to design and create a new standard streetlight for the city.
The competition, which was overseen by the Mayor's Office and the Bureau of Street Lighting, asked applicants to consider how streetlights can incorporate new technology, include space for text on each pole, and provide shade to help ease the impacts of climate change. The entries were judged by a panel of six experts in design, lighting, and public infrastructure.
Project Room will receive $70,000 for winning the competition, a statement said. The design will not affect the standing of historic streetlights already in place across Los Angeles. Instead, it will gradually replace the roughly 180,000 standard streetlights currently dispersed citywide.
BSL installs 1,000 to 2,000 standard streetlights each year.
“We are incredibly honored that our design was selected by the City of L.A. and the Bureau of Street Lighting,'' said Project Room co-founder Sandy Yum. ``L.A. Lights the Way challenged us to create a new streetlight for Los Angeles that would connect to our city's design history and culture, incorporate new technology, and still reflect L.A.'s diversity.
Project Room's winning design reimagines the traditional lamp post as a bundle of tubes where each service -- roadway light, pedestrian light, and telecommunications equipment -- is assigned a dedicated tube fabricated of steel or aluminum, according to a city statement. The design allows for additional features, such as 5G equipment, shade fixtures, and even a bench, to be added as needed.
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“The Project Room design was the clear standout for the members of the jury,'' said Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Officer for the City. “What's most impressive about it is that it's not a single, fixed design but instead a family of forms that can be reconfigured in nearly endless ways. That adaptability will serve to future-proof the design, giving it flexibility in accommodating new technology as it arrives.''
