A new 40-story residential tower in Houston’s urban core is quickly becoming a local icon. Known by its address — 2929 Weslayan — the LEED Gold-certified structure includes 254 luxury apartment homes and 12,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Designed by Dallas-based RTKL Associates, it incorporates exquisite finishes and stunning architecture while providing panoramic views from spacious balconies.
Those balconies are among the building’s standout features, thanks to creative use of iLight Plexineon White 2X 4500 LED fixtures. The balconies are on every floor, and they’re curved — creating a wavy, organic appearance up and down the building’s gleaming façade. At night, those curves are accentuated by lines of Plexineon, which outline the edges of the balconies and form what appears, from a distance, to be a wave of light.
Scott Oldner, of Scott Oldner Lighting Design, says the wave effect was intentional — to compliment the glassy “river” that exists between the two columns of 16-foot balconies. On the one hand, it’s a nod to nature; on the other, Oldner says, “The building was designed by RTKL to look like a woman in a flowing dress, with the balconies embellishing it like lace or the lines of a corset.”
Having already used it in several applications, Oldner said he appreciates Plexineon’s bright, consistent light. “Consistent color temperature across all the fixtures was crucial. Tape in an extrusion would not have provided that consistency, Oldner said. Color-changing light was considered, but he adds, “The design was classic and costs were tight, so we needed to go with a static white look. To add a bit of eye-candy, we used the Plexineon fixtures to define the upper dress and another color temperature for the “skirt” at the bottom.”