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Design Burn Out

Photo By David Brownlee

The Millennium lighting project on the Schuylkill bridges is an example of design burn-out. The floodlights on the Walnut Street Bridge are defunct, half the accent lights on the arches of the Market Street Bridge are extinguished (here), and most of the lamps on the latter's candelabra-like street lights are broken and/or burnt out. It's too bad that we can't design urban fittings that the city can maintain.

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Comments

Adam Carangi :

Adding to this, the Strawberry Mansion Bridge lighting has not worked consistently well for years. AND, it seems that most of the time that I drive by Boathouse Row, that the lighting is not set properly, either. Public artwork that is lighting should be held to a higher standard of quality than a typical lighting application. Also, there should be a better plan in place for long-term ownership and maintenance of such fixtures before realization of a the project. Finally, the need to take the 'low-bid' almost assuredly affects these installations, and "Value-Engineering" with regard to lighting design is not a true statement. It drastically de-values the life of the design. We always fight hard for a one-name spec, or a three-name spec only--no "or equals". Also, not succumbing to manufacturer's representatives, contractors, or distributors that tell you that something isn't available in time or can be had less expensively after the specified product has been budgeted for, approved and issued for bid is weak. Giving up your spec for alleged savings of time or money for someone else is depreciating your own value on/to a project and ultimately results in poor installations that fail prematurely. That said, it's been 12 years. Even if they had usable LED back then, it too would be done by now. And, this lighting may have been exactly what was specified, so who knows. Exactly how long a lighting installation should last is not an easy question. However, these should have been better maintained by the city.

Julia :

Superbly illuminating data here, thnaks!