Excited to contribute to the lighting design of Centene’s East Coast Regional Headquarters, nestled in Uptown Charlotte’s University Research Park. Our lighting design embraces the biophilic essence of the corporate campus. The seamless integration of light and architecture promotes wellness and fosters an inspiring, collaborative environment.
DETAIL: BPI provides the lighting design services for entire projects. 800,000sqft of two office buildings, 2 parking lot buildings, nursery facility, including 55 acre of overall site lighting.
Project Location: Charlotte, NC
Architect: LS3P
Credits: Design and Photography Provided by LS3P.
05/21/2024
Thrilled to illuminate Bengaluru’s iconic ‘garden city’ heritage at Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), this « Terminal in a Garden » radically reimagines the airport experience. Our lighting, nestled within cross-laid engineered bamboo layers, mimics a tranquil garden pavilion, offering a warm, inviting ambiance after dusk.
Howard Brandston passed away peacefully in the afternoon of Friday, February 24th. He was a legendary figure in the profession of Architectural Lighting Design - indeed he helped to invent it. Prior to the 1960’s there were only a few people who ventured into this arena: Stanley McCandless, Abe Fender, Richard Kelly and Seymour Evans. Howard knew them all, and worked with McCandless and Evans.
His initial forays into lighting were in the theater: he was involved in productions at Brooklyn College, and eventually met Stanley McCandless of Century Lighting, a major supplier of theatrical lighting equipment, and some architectural fixtures, as well. After about seven years at Century, he decided to open his own consulting firm.
Howard set up his practice in the area that has recently been given a Landmark Designation as “Tin Pan Alley” at 7 West 28th Street. This was in 1965, by which time the area had become the Flower District. He incorporated the practice in 1966, though he didn’t have much business in the beginning. He always joked that he was getting to be a pretty good guitar player, because he had so much time on his hands. But one day the phone rang, and it was a call from the lighting manufacturer Kurt Versen. They wanted him to design the optics for a new line of fixtures they intended to produce. He was off and running. During that collaboration, he was introduced to the graphic designer Rudy deHarak, and they eventually worked together on the Canadian Pavilion at the 1967 Montreal Expo and later the American Pavilion at Expo 1970 in Osaka, and many other projects later on.
So the company grew, and he hired designers who he trained to become Lighting Designers. His mantra, which he drilled into everyone who worked with him, as well as his clients was, “What do you wish to see?” He felt that if you can’t answer that seemingly simple question, the project was bound to fail. Don’t start with light levels, illuminance requirements, energy codes…. “What do you wish to see?”
His company went on to design lighting for projects such as the American Airlines Terminal at Love Field in Dallas with Henry Dreyfuss; many hotels for Hilton and others around the world; many educational buildings starting with various SUNY projects, and then others, including Yale, Washington University, Columbia University, and Princeton; also a multi-year relationship with the American Museum of Natural History; many subway stations in New York City and Boston; master lighting plans for several universities, the Denver 16th Street Mall, Battery Park City in New York City, the Dallas Arts District, and the City of Detroit; retail, such as various departments at the original Barney’s on 7th Avenue, one of the many incarnations of Macy’s ground floor of their flagship store on 34th Street; sports facilities, such as Meadowland sports complex; the Louisiana State Capitol; courthouses around the country; and, of course, the project for which he will always be remembered: the re-lighting of the Statue of Liberty.
His work and his career were varied, and each design was unique, always re-inventing himself for every project. He taught at several universities, and helped found the lighting program at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His “Howard Brandston Student Lighting Design Competition” has proved very popular and continues to this day.
He was a founding member of the International Association of Lighting Designers, a past President of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and recipient of many prestigious awards from both organizations.
01/03/2023
Warmest wishes from the Brandstons. Sending our loves to the Brandstons and wishing Howard's good health and happiness.
01/19/2021
Finally, BPI won a LIT award in Community Building Lighting for the Chongqing Guo Tai Arts Center. The project involved a façade renovation and upgrade to the landscape lighting. Beautiful project!
📸 Sony Wang
01/14/2021
BPI also was an award winner in LED Exterior Systems for the OPPO Super Flagship Store in Shanghai, China! Careful attention was paid to every minute detail of the facade. Well done team!
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Brandston Partnership Inc. (BPI), an award winning architectural lighting design firm, has completed over 5,000 projects in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
BPI was founded in 1966 by Howard Brandston, who went on to receive many lighting awards, including Lifetime Achievement awards and “Fellow” status with both the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). Early in his career, he worked with major NYC developers in trend-setting designs for hotels, office lobbies and exterior environments. Working internationally was a part of his early business model.
Our professional staff of twelve in New York and ninety in China, Singapore and Korea are trained in architecture, interior design, engineering and theater, with primary interest in architectural lighting design. BPI has been selected as the lighting designer for some of the world’s most prestigious projects built in the last half century. Our client list and number of honors we have received give testimony to the quality of design work we have contributed to these projects.
We have an extraordinary diversity of experience at every scale and virtually every project type. Our work ranges from jewel-box boutiques, intimate cafés and small apartments, to insightful historic restorations, technically demanding aquaria and major city planning projects.
