Perfect Fit LED Transition in Busy NY Times Offices
Designed by Renzo Piano in collaboration with FXCollaborative, the glass-clad New York Times Building featured the cutting edge in integrated building technologies when it opened. Shadow-free illumination in the main Newsroom and offices came from custom Zumtobel T5 fluorescent fixtures with superb glare control.
As LED lighting technology matured and energy efficiency became a goal, Times management tested a number of LED upgrades; part of their ongoing sustainability efforts. But in the end, Zumtobel lighting developed a custom refurbishment kit with a proven optical design even superior to the original fixture, an affordable refurbishment offering 50% energy savings, plastic free packaging, and super-fast installation.
Renzo Piano’s dazzling The New York Times Building opened in 2007, featuring 52 stories of mixed office and retail spaces. The open spaces and floor-to-ceiling views perfectly suited the bustling main Newsroom and offices of the anchor tenant, The New York Times.
Interior architect Gensler worked with Attila Uysal and Susan Brady Lighting Design Studio on the newsroom’s shadow-free, glare-free illumination system from Zumtobel. The lighting was designed to integrate holistically with other building systems to maximize energy performance and occupant satisfaction.
Benefiting from the LED lighting revolution
As 2020 loomed, the Times’ building-management team sought to benefit from maturing LED lighting technology. The Times staff saw opportunities for additional energy savings and other advantages readily available with LED. But could they find a retrofit solution that would improve the appearance, flexibility, and lighting quality, without requiring expensive new fixtures and controls?
LED: A technology whose time has come
"The fluorescent technology was outdated, and The New York Times management knew it," said Attila Uysal of Lumen Architecture, who worked on both the original Newsroom/Office lighting and the 2022 refurbishment to LED. “They knew it had to be compatible with the existing light fixtures and digital control system. It was a complex retrofit with a lot of details.”
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The “perfect fit” LED solution
The Times building-management team tested a variety of LED retrofit products, including T5 LED replacement lamps and off-the-shelf retrofit kits. They sought to improve energy savings and eliminate disruptive and expensive maintenance needed to replace burned out fluorescents. But the options they explored initially were just not compatible with the original Zumtobel fixture. Either they failed to improve energy efficiency, or they produced irregular beam patterns or were overly expensive to install. Evaluating all these different options, their performance, and myriad details proved daunting.
The Times staff brought in Attila Uysal, the original lighting consultant, now with Lumen Architecture in New York City. Uysal narrowed the viable solutions, introducing the Times team to an affordable, custom-developed refurbishment kit from Zumtobel.
A proven retrofit optic
Zumtobel had already developed an LED retrofit optic that was 100% compatible with the original digitally controlled T5 luminaires. It was a proven optic with a perfect fit. This optimized LED solution would meet the energy efficiency requirements and actually improve the overall visual environment.
The Zumtobel NYTimes refurbishment kit provides an end-to-end luminous appearance of the fixture itself and broadens the batwing light distribution of the original T5 configuration. The entire chamber behind the metal louver is illuminated, eliminating shadows once thrown by the fluorescent lamp bases and sockets. Thus improving the overall visual comfort of the illuminated fixture.
Sustainable and cost effective
A whole-new fixture would have served, but at higher cost and far more components entering the waste stream. Instead, the NYTimes refurbishment kit preserves 80% to 90% of the original aluminum and steel fixture. From a sustainability point of view, this is far superior.
The way it was designed, a kit can be installed in as little as 20 minutes (half as long as the other kits evaluated), minimizing disruption to the busy Newsroom and offices.
Because Zumtobel engineered the original fixture, they were best able to develop the perfect retrofit solution.
“The NYTimes refurbishment kit was a perfect fit because Zumtobel knew exactly how the original fixtures were constructed. They demonstrated how to remove the fluorescent lamps and sockets and attach the kit. Et voila! The fixture became far more unified and visually integrated into the ceiling. It’s like a whole new fixture in appearance. Plus, you have perfect photometric performance and UL approval,” said Attila Uysal of Lumen Architecture. “Zumtobel offered a far superior product, compared side-by-side with competitors.”
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Nurturing a 21st century commitment
Over 170 years, The New York Times has become a 21st century media organization. And the Newsroom and Office’s fresh, energy-efficient lighting reflects that identity.
As a company, Zumtobel is focused on significantly reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, pursuing the objective of becoming a climate-neutral company by the year 2025. Maximizing the energy efficiency and flexibility of today’s LED technology, while extending the useful life of existing fixtures, furthers that commitment. Zumtobel’s “perfect fit” refurbishment kit improves the original luminaire’s appearance and visual comfort, as well as the quality of light in this important newsroom at the heart of our nation’s newspaper of record.
Project year: 2022-2023
Owner/Client: The New York Times, New York City (USA)
Building Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop in association with FX Collaborative (formerly FXFowle), New York City (USA) (opened 2007)
Interior Architect: Gensler, New York City (USA (opened 2007)
Original tenant lighting design: Susan Brady Lighting Design Studio (opened 2007)
Techinical consulting, lighting design: Attila Uysal, LumenArchitecture, New York City(USA) (refurbishment complete 2023)