Ajax Library Retrofit

Project Details


Lighting Design/Specifier:  ALULA Lighting Design
Manufacturers:  Axis Lighting
Photography:  Scott Norsworthy

Good light can make all the difference, especially when it comes to a reading environment. Constructed in 2002, the Ajax Library was created as a new community hub for the surrounding community of Ajax, Ontario. Well loved and visited by families across the city for over a decade, Ajax Library was in need of a lighting makeover – the goal? To retrofit their existing T5HO fluorescent striplights to accommodate new, modern fixtures that would reduce glare and encourage easier maintenance.

ALULA Lighting Design, Architects Luc Boulaine, HIDI Group and Salex Inc. worked hand in hand to take on this project, collaborating to make the library as comfortable as possible for community members through appropriate lighting additions. In 2016, Axis Lighting’s “Sculpt” series fixtures were installed throughout the environment to create ambiance while all of the existing linear lighting elements and regressed architectural slots in the library were retrofitted.

This transformation brought Ajax Library into a new, more modern era. The updated lighting dramatically improves the quality of the visual environment for readers and staff, making the visual atmosphere more welcoming, and in turn, encouraging community members to gather in the space to foster a love of reading.

In addition, this lighting retrofit also benefitted the environment; by upgrading the outdated fixtures, energy consumption was reduced by 33%.