Crafting a Lighting Experience for Clovis Community Medical Center

A well-designed healthcare space makes everybody feel better. From the designer to the patient, the care that goes into essential elements such as the lighting design of a healthcare space, is vital in creating a calming atmosphere. It helps healthcare professionals feel safe and secure in their ability to care for patients, and patients can feel confident and supported in their treatment.

For the Clovis Community Medical Center, a large-scale custom lighting design was critical to executing the designer's vision. For the primary entrance to Clovis Community Medical Center's inpatient and outpatient tower, the HMC design team needed a light fixture that was large enough to fit the scale of the lobby while also being a statement design within the entry itself. The design needed to provide ambient lighting during the evening hours and match the overall lobby design's warmth, elegance, and sophistication

HMC Architects quickly found that “off-the-shelf” light fixtures would be limiting in providing an experiential design for Clovis Community Medical Center. They required a unique product and a lighting partner that was skilled and knowledgeable enough to design and build a complex vision. Yellow Goat Design was a natural choice for such a project. Our experience with previous healthcare clients and the ability to concept, fabricate and install, combined with a collaboration mentality, made this project a huge success.

Drawn to the natural landscapes of California's central valley, design elements were inspired by the nearby orchards' colors and gentle breezes that flow through the valley. Spanning 35 feet long by 15 feet wide, the central lighting sculpture is comprised of 679 1" wide custom-length resin stems with integrated pin lights that undulate up and down in a playful dance. Two similar smaller fixtures in a patient waiting area create an integrated lighting solution throughout the central lobby. Each custom-length acrylic stem is fabricated from ½" 3Form Varia Ecoresin in three soft complementary colors: melon, teaberry, and blush. 35 Pin LED light tubes are strategically located throughout the sculpture to provide an even twinkling of light through the swirling collection of acrylic stems. 42 integrated downlights are located within the aluminum panels to ensure proper lighting at the floor level as well as enhance the playfulness of light reflecting off the acrylic stems.

Challenges inevitably arose in the creation of such a large-scale piece. The design teams had to work with the general contractor to create a secondary structural frame system. Surface mounting would impede the fire sprinkler coverage and produce an unsightly frame box that conflicted with the lobby's movement and design intent. It was essential to HMC that the light sculptures appeared to be part of the architecture. The design and construction teams undertook careful technical efforts to recess the large aluminum panels into the gypsum ceiling. Recessing the sculpture required concealing the ceiling plenum's secondary structure and carefully coordinating with the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems above the ceiling. Recessing the fixture also allowed for fewer sprinkler heads but required careful coordination to integrate sprinkler heads within the sculpture panels. The result of recessing the panels and the supporting structure created a uniform and uninterrupted appearance to the ceiling plane. Each pendant appears to elegantly drop from a pinhole in the ceiling.

The importance of knowledge in lighting design and construction cannot be understated. Working with a lighting designer who understands the ins and outs of the craft can be invaluable in getting the desired result. Specialized designers can evaluate the entire design space and help choose the right fixture or combination of fixtures that meet the functional requirements, looks pleasing to the eye, and works within the budget. Understanding how to integrate the various systems, lighting, controls, and accessories can be especially challenging. Knowing how to properly evaluate a lighting design from the perspective of patient safety, wellness and energy efficiency is beneficial in improving patient and worker satisfaction.

Yellow Goat Design was honored to bring our level of expertise and knowledge to HMC's design idea and help achieve a simple yet impactful design that wasn't possible with an "off the shelf" product. The inspiration for the lighting sculptures, the playful twirling lighting pendants mimicking the soft sweeping curvature of the lobby's architecture, and the meticulous integration of the lighting fixture within the structure of the building all required expertise, skill, and dedication to artistry and the design vision.

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Cat Gilbert is the Marketing Director for Yellow Goat Design. She has worked for over 10 years in the Marketing, Publishing, and Hospitality industry with a focus creative and unusual luxury design. To contact please reach out here.