Adler Planetarium Samuel C. Johnson Family Star Theater
A complete turnkey, solid state “architainment” lighting solution for the renovated Adler Planetarium Samuel C. Johnson Family Star Theater.
JR Lighting Design, Inc. provided Chicago’s Adler Planetarium with a mix of design, lighting and special-effects elements for the recently renovated Samuel C. Johnson Family Star Theater installation. Lighting Designers Jason Reberski and Eric Price used a mix of solid-state lighting technologies to achieve a cohesive vision.
Jason Reberski – president of the design sales, consultation and installation firm – notes, “From the outset it was clear that this project was on a fast-track with only a couple of weeks until full-speed installation was underway. The architects (Gensler) already had several brilliant concepts and renderings, which were helpful in determining a design approach, and the contractor, Troop Contracting, had already worked with the Adler team and designer, Eric Price on prior projects.”
Reberski and Price co-designed the project with Reberski managing logistics, equipment specification and programming, while Price managed the installation team, integration and commissioning of the lighting systems.
“There are no conventional light sources in the entire complex; everything that we specified and installed is solid state,” says Reberski. “We knew that maintenance and power consumption were huge factors and as a result, we installed over 120 iColor Cove MX fixtures from Philips Color Kinetics, more than 500 feet of RGB Flex Tape and numerous LED Drivers from Elation Professional, and 18 custom RGBW-configured Altman Spectra Cyc 200s, along with nine Blisslight Star Projectors (also with custom-colored LED nebula effects). Even the ellipsoidals used are LED-based Altman ME3 units. A Doug Fleenor Design data network was installed and the programming was performed on a High End Systems Hog 4 console.”
The Samuel C. Johnson Family Star Theater, used for immersive 3-D films, reopened in November 2012 and immediately hosted a panel discussion with astronauts Jim Lovell and Eugene Cernan of Apollo 13 and Apollo 17 fame respectively.
"I have had the privilege of working with JRLX, Inc. on several occasions and have found them to be extremely conscientious and professional in their work. They have provided exceptional service to the Adler Planetarium. Their attention to detail, knowledge of all aspects of lighting elements and installation, and sense of stewardship have been invaluable to bringing our projects in on time, under budget, and to an approved standard of quality…Please accept my highest recommendation of JRLX, Inc.”
Susan J. Harrison Director of Grant and Project Management
The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
Reberski notes, “We had the pleasure of working with a wonderful team including the Adler Planetarium’s creative and project management staff, Gensler and Troop Contracting.”