MIAMI – Freedom Tower, a landmark 1925-vintage building in downtown Miami with historic significance as a site of Cuban immigration to the U.S., was recently transformed with an architectural lighting installation that included Martin Professional Exterior 400 luminaires. The Exterior 400 LED light fixtures gave Miami Dade College the ability to bathe the building in colors that included pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October and red and yellow for the Miami Heat NBA basketball team, which plays across the street at American Airlines Arena.
Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Freedom Tower was used to process hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees in the 1960s. In 2005, the building was donated to Miami Dade College, which uses it as a cultural and educational center. The building has recently undergone a major renovation.
As the most prominent structure on its downtown campus, Miami Dade College sought to highlight the building's landmark status and role as a major meeting point for both community and students.
In 2008, Jorge Gamez of Stage, Equipment and Lighting of Miami began working with lighting director Carlos Cedano of Miami Dade College on the renovation of the College's downtown campus auditorium.
In 2010, Miami Dade College was looking to illuminate the Freedom Tower and turned to Gamez.
"They came to me with several prerequisites," Gamez said. "Most notably, they wanted to go green and insisted on LED. The Exterior 400 Range was just about to be released and fit in perfectly. I contacted Jim Fuller at Martin who provided a couple of prototype units for an evening of on-site demonstrations. The fixture really sold itself."
The Exterior 400 Range features calibrated color and output levels well-suited for outdoor illumination. To light the Freedom Tower, there are 40 Exterior 400s, an RGB plus white luminaire that provides bright light (5300 lm) at narrow beam angles; and 12 Exterior 410s, which feature pre-mixed LEDs (RGBW) for no color separation and brightness (5600 lm). All Exterior 400 Range fixtures draw very little power (139 W maximum).
"We went with the 400 Range because of the low power consumption and efficiency," said Gamez. "It's also really bright and does exactly what Miami Dade College wanted. The Exterior 400 is also simple to maintain and was easy to marry with the CueServer. Knowing that Martin's US headquarters is locally based, we were confident that support was a phone call away. Martin is known for the quality of its gear and offer terrific support after the sale."
Gamez and Miami Dade College sought to discreetly place the fixtures around the building, which the 400 Range's small size allowed them to do effectively. Placed at the center shaft of the building are Exterior 400s with their narrow angle and longer throw beam, with the Exterior 410s located at various positions – ground, balconies, and roof.
E&C Electrical completed the installation.
For more information, please visit www.martin.com.
