World-class golf resort creates a homey “backyard” feel with exterior lighting
The striking Omni PGA Frisco Resort bills itself as a one-stop destination for leisure, golf, wellness, dining, shopping, and entertainment. Sprawling over 660 acres just north of the city of Frisco, Texas, it includes a 500-guestroom hotel and conference center, spa, two championship golf courses, practice facilities, and clubhouse.
MWHarris Lighting Studio was selected as the team to develop the lighting scheme for the resort. With a high end and impactful aesthetic in mind, the team opted for Luminis exterior luminaires in prominent outdoor areas.
One of those areas is a 1.5-mile-long promenade that connects the hotel and golf facilities. Designated as a walking path, the promenade is also utilized by golf carts accessing the courses and various practice areas. Adhering to local county regulations, the path is 15 feet wide to accommodate fire truck access. The pathway, with limited trees on either side, resulted in an extremely dark environment in the evenings. So, as well as looking good, the lighting solution also had to provide wayfinding and lighting for increased safety and security.
Luminis’ Lumiquad LQ641 luminaires are installed along both sides of the promenade. The 6” x 6” square columns provide welcoming, soft illumination. And what makes the lighting even more enticing is the custom shroud pattern that creates a dappled effect.
"Our overall exterior lighting design intent was to create a backyard, homey feel," said Mark Harris, founder and principal of MWHarris Lighting Studio. "Metaphorically, the shrouds emulate moonlight shining through trees in a space with limited trees."
Particular attention was paid to getting the shroud design just right. Up close, one will note a distinct tartan pattern as a tribute to the surrounding golfing environment. Omni's in-house graphic design team developed the concept. As a bespoke pattern, Luminis was challenged with creating a solution that respected the desired aesthetic appearance, but also provided the correct amount of light to make the luminaires fit for purpose. Working closely with Harris, the Luminis team was able to deliver a solution that was on point.
“We worked with the Luminis team to finetune the fixture settings, including the lumen output, to ensure an appropriate light level along the pathway, with no glare,” said Harris. “This was a very important part of the process.”
The result is a unique pattern of illumination along the promenade. Lumiquad LQ641 luminaires add interest to the space while ensuring pedestrians and golf carts can navigate safely at any time of day or night. Additionally, they are designated Dark Sky friendly.
Maintaining that 'backyard' vibe extends to the landscaping surrounding the hotel, spa, and conference center. Eye-catching stone columns support a wooden soffit ceiling area that wraps around the building. A single wall-mounted Syrios SY602 high-performance luminaire is affixed to each column.
The 6” diameter cylinder features a unique integral tilting mechanism, which allows forward/back adjustability. For additional flexibility and precise directional aiming of the light beam, an optional 355° adjustable rotation was selected. As a result, Syrios’ downlight delivers light precisely where needed, warmly illuminating the stone pathway and casual seating spaces immediately adjacent to the building. And its uplight draws attention to the beautiful woodwork above.
“Uplighting both the stone column and wood ceiling helps to bring these unique architectural features, and materials, to life,” Harris said. “It also ensures the guests truly experience the warmth of the wood,” Harris said.
Harris says that everyone has been very enthusiastic about the results.
“Omni is a great client to work for,” concluded Harris. “It sets a high standard and is very willing to work with you and the design team to get the desired result. Collaborating with Luminis in the way we did enabled us to provide an Omni-quality lighting design solution for this project.”
PROJECT NAME: Omni PGA Frisco Resort
LOCATION: Frisco, Texas, USA
CATEGORY: Exterior Lighting
PROJECT COMPLETION: April 2023
LIGHTING DESIGNER: MWHarris Lighting Studio
LUMINIS AGENT: Architectural Lighting Alliance
PHOTOGRAPHY: Parrish Ruiz de Velasco
