The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla, California recently opened as the permanent home of the La Jolla Music Society. Designed from the ground-up by Epstein Joslin Architects, the multi-venue, state-of-the-art event facility is praised for its elegance and refinement. The main performance space, the Baker-Baum Concert Hall, combines superb acoustics by Nagata Acoustics, with an intricate architectural design – making it ideal for many types of performances. The lighting scheme, conceived by the engineering firm Syska Hennessy Group and Theatre Consultants Collaborative, features numerous Rosco Miro Cube 4C LED fixtures that highlight key architectural details inside the Baker-Baum in order to create an elegant aesthetic that complements the overall design.

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall is accentuated by an acoustically transparent wooden grillage that folds around the stage and the audience. This unique feature of the auditorium provides audience/performer intimacy without losing its superior sound quality. Its sophisticated elegance draws inspiration from the silhouette of palms against the setting sun over the Pacific – one of the signature elements of La Jolla’s ambience. Alan Joslin, the principal-in-charge of the Conrad’s design, describes the Baker-Baum Concert Hall as “a wooden nest that floats inside the ideal outer acoustic shell of concrete and masonry.”

The grillage features a decorative triangular pattern that is spread evenly across the verticals. The triangle is illuminated with Rosco Miro Cube 4C LED fixtures in order to create the look and feel the architects envisioned. Advised by Curtis Kasefang from Theatre Consultants Collaborative and Brian Ellsworth from our Manufacturer’s Rep. Forman & Associates, designers at Syska Hennessy specified nearly 40 of the 4C Miro Cubes to underscore the triangular accent detail with subtle white light. “Rosco Miro Cubes really were the right fixture for the job,” said Kasefang. “Initially something else was specified at a crazy cost. When I saw the cubes at LDI, I thought that, with their on-board DMX interface and their light output, they would be a much better choice. The effect created with the Miro Cubes is beautiful.”

Epstein Joslin Architect’s “wooden nest” frames the audience and the stage inside the Baker-Baum Concert Hall.

The fixtures, integrated along the edge of the ceiling, are balanced to a slightly warmer white tone than the ambient lighting to bring out the natural color of the wood. As the lighting in the room changes, the light from the Miro Cubes remains perfectly fused with the warm wood accents to create an enveloping ambience that enhances the musical experience inside the Baker-Baum Concert Hall.

Robert Fagnant, Associate Partner at Syska Hennessy, commented that “the Rosco Miro Cube 4C allowed us to illuminate the wood wall details with a small source with precise optics. The ability to tune the color temperature was an additional benefit so we could balance the color with other elements in the hall.”

Warm accent light from the Miro Cubes against a blue color wash creates a feeling of depth & infinity.

Fagnant highlighted the main benefits of using Rosco Miro Cube 4C:

Thanks to their small size, the fixtures could be easily concealed in the ceiling area.
The adjustable color temperature using the 4C’s mix of RGBW LEDs allowed the designers to render the wood colors as the architects intended.
The fixtures’ precise optics enabled them to tailor the light to the wood detailing without spill.
The fixtures’ on-board DMX enabled them to fit seamlessly into the performance hall’s control system.

“We love your fixtures,” Alan Joslin replied in an email thanking us for helping to make the project a success. We are thrilled that we had the opportunity to collaborate on this project to help bring the architects’ vision to life. For more information about the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, visit the La Jolla Music Society’s website: ljms.org/the-conrad. To learn more about the accent lighting fixtures installed inside the Baker-Baum Concert Hall, explore the Miro Cube 4C product page on Rosco.com.