The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) selected the State Farm Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign for a 2018 Illumination Award of Merit. The recognition for the architectural lighting group at Henderson Engineers represents meritorious contribution to lighting design.

As part of a $169.5 million renovation to the iconic arena, Henderson’s architectural lighting group devised lighting solutions that inspired excitement on the interior and exterior of the building. Color-changeable up lighting activates the concourse from within, celebrates the historic architecture of the building, and excites spectators as they approach the building at night. Added lighting to the exterior also increased safety measures for game day crowds.

“Creating an architecturally pleasing lighting solution was challenging for this project due to a complicated program involving both existing and new construction,” said Ginger Rucker, senior architectural lighting designer at Henderson. “There were many obstacles between initial concept and completed installation. The success of this project was a full team effort. The result is that the Fighting Illini faithful now have an arena that truly celebrates the university.”

Other features of the project include a facility-wide digital multiplex (DMX) system, allowing an experienced facilities group to control all of the building’s color-changeable lights to create unique effects for different arena events. The Alumni Club and Courtside Club 53 provide a unique, exclusive, and high-end feel.

As a national leader in sports architectural lighting, Henderson has completed projects at high-profile venues in collegiate and professional athletics. Henderson’s lighting group has worked on a wide range of project spaces within sports facilities, including premium finish hospitality spaces (clubs and suites), high visibility public spaces (entries, lobbies, concourses, and auditoriums), exclusive team-centered areas (locker rooms, strength and conditioning, and training facilities), and exterior sites and façades.

“At Henderson, we know that architecture informs the lighting and the lighting brings good architecture to life,” Rucker explained. “Our team works closely with architects and interiors teams to create beautiful spaces that meet the specific, unique needs of each project. Balancing aesthetics, costs, flexibility, human factors, and maintainability is ingrained in what we do.

“We are team players when it comes to the sports facilities we light, and we strive to have our clients enjoy working with us and love the results of our collaboration. Along the way throughout this process, there was an ongoing commitment from our Henderson colleagues and the team at AECOM, which kept the development on track to the completion of this great project.”

The State Farm Center originally opened in 1963 and was known as the Assembly Hall until 2013. It is home to the Fighting Illini men’s and women’s basketball programs that compete in the Big Ten Conference. Concerts and theatrical performances also take place in the arena that is an iconic statement on the University of Illinois campus.

Now in its 45^th year, the Illumination Awards program includes projects that were voted on by industry designers with the design team withheld. Judges were selected from a broad professional spectrum, representing knowledge of lighting and design excellence. The judging system was entirely based on how well the lighting design meets the program criteria.