Broadleaf Arbor was conceived as an affordable housing project and is a collaboration between Community Development Partners (CDP) and Northwest Oregon Housing Authority. The St. Helens, Oregon neighborhood was designed as a “Community for All Ages” and features 239 apartments and townhouses, accommodating seniors, and multi-generational families.

“This is the stuff we love to do,” said Devki RajGuru, president of LittleFish Lighting, Inc., and lighting designer for the development. "Everybody deserves good lighting. And this project was an opportunity to positively impact a community!"

LittleFish’s first lighting challenge was the streetlighting around the main entrance of the community. The goal was to effectively illuminate the roadway – also a fire lane – but ensure there was no light spillage to the adjacent seniors' building. All architecture in the complex features very clean lines, so RajGuru envisioned an exceptionally tall luminaire with a similar, minimalistic aesthetic to complement its surroundings.

Local agent, The Lighting Group, presented Luminis’ Bellevue BVA32 pole mount luminaire. The advanced optical system in the BVA series creates a uniformly illuminated surface for powerful area and street lighting.

Bellevue’s sleek aesthetic was the initial draw for RajGuru, but she was even more intrigued by its versatility.

“The moment I was on the Luminis website and identified that I could mix and match my head sizes, optics, and lumen outputs, all with the same form factor, this sealed the deal!” RajGuru said.

RajGuru wanted maximum light coverage in this area with the least number of poles. She started with a Type III distribution for its wider flood pattern, and a performance package of over 10,000 delivered lumens. Through photometrics testing, it was determined that a higher 28’ foot pole would enable her to specify only six luminaires, so Luminis agreed to modify the pole height to meet the 28’ requirement.

The next illumination challenge was further down the same street, along the sidewalks, and adjacent to the community center. RajGuru needed powerful area lighting for the roadway and street parking. And then more pedestrian-friendly illumination for the sidewalks and spaces around the community center itself.

A solution was proposed to mount both optics on the same pole: BVA32 performance optics facing the street and BVG21 comfort optics facing the sidewalk in front of the community center. A precise cut-off angle and recessed cell-lens technology in the BVG series provides illumination precisely where it is needed and is well-suited for busy pedestrian areas requiring visual comfort. A consistent aesthetic was maintained with the same luminaire series, and by combining both optics on one pole, the quantity of poles was reduced by half.

Developers envisioned an intentional community feeling. All residential buildings face inward towards an oval green space with walking paths, lawns, picnic and BBQ areas, and gardening opportunities. The same Bellevue BVG21 luminaires, with glare-free comfort optics, were selected to illuminate the pathways. Each 15-foot fixture is angled at 15 degrees to push the light distribution towards the grass while ensuring no spillage back to the adjacent residences.

“The Bellevue luminaires create a wonderful feeling of comfort and safety in the oval,“ explained RajGuru.

One corner of the community features a townhome section. These large 3- and 4-bedroom houses back onto a corridor with walkways, benches, and gardens. Luminis’ Lumiquad columns were selected to line the common pathway.

Each Lumiquad LQ640 6" square profile column features a white translucent diffuser and four extruded aluminum struts on the taller 12-foot pole. It delivers 2623 lumens to comfortably and effectively light the common areas behind each townhome. The luminaires provide 360° of illumination with no glare close to the homes.

Development owners are thrilled with the final result, and people who live and work in BroadLeaf Arbor have also been extremely positive.

“As a lighting designer, it is very rare to have a project built exactly as specified,” said RajGuru. But we achieved just that thanks to Luminis' flexibility and willingness to work with us. It was literally 'textbook' in terms of how the design process could be!"