Header: Courtesy of J+B Studios Architectural Lighting
Jinmao Langfang Longhe Central Park Club, completed in June 2024 in Longhe Central Park in Langfang, China, has recently received recognition at the LIT Lighting Design Awards for the lighting design by J+B Studios Architectural Lighting. The design by Hen-Chao Shih, with Fiona Lang and Liping Deng in the team, complemented the architecture and interiors by Sunlay for China Jinmao.
“Mountains Within Waters: Recreating Nature”
The lighting design was curated to align with the project’s central idea: “Mountains Within Waters: Recreating Nature”. To achieve it, the building uses horizontality and ridgelines as its main architectural elements, with the lighting following them closely. Instead of letting light wash evenly across the whole building, the lighting design works on selected structural elements to better bring out their form.
Ridgelines by the river
The roof is where this support is more noticeable, as its lighting changes according to the slope of each section, creating a gradient across the surface with different plane layers. The effect was carefully formed to reference mountain contours. At night, these shifts in light make the building’s silhouette prominent in the city landscape and keep the roof ridgeline as the main feature.
The building is located beside a lake, so the lit roofline is reflected and doubled on its surface. It is here that the theme comes to life, as the night brings lit-up mountains to the waters, but achieving such a feat was not simple. The building must be visible, meaning clearly lit, while the surrounding areas have to stay dark enough for the reflection to be perfectly mirrored.
The entrances, the bridge and the park
A second layer of the lighting design appears along the building edges and the floating bridge, as diffused lighting is used to make the routes safe at night and to define the forms. These lit edges also throw soft bands of light onto the lake, and as the water moves, so do the reflections. The mirroring surface is never static, becoming part of the overall design composition.
At the three entrances described as “mountain ridges”, light comes from inside and moves outward, so they become architectural focal points. Here, the designers applied a different method from the one used in the roof: instead of a gradient, brightness is concentrated within the opening itself.
In the park, low-level anti-glare bollard lights were used for safety and support, choosing to understate the landscape in order to put the spotlight on the building, the entrances and the light reflected on the lake.
Sustainability strategy
The scheme uses a precision lighting method based on the principle of “less but better”. Rather than lighting all surfaces, fixtures are directed only at the key structural elements. Essential areas are illuminated, while non-critical zones are left darker.
For dark sky compliance, the project uses high-efficiency 45W LED floodlights with three narrow beam angles: 8°, 15° and 24°. These narrow distributions allow the light to be accurately aimed at specific parts of the architecture. Mounting height and spacing were determined through photometric calculations and illuminance requirements, which helped eliminate stray light, avoid over-illumination and prevent upward spill onto nearby trees. To save energy, the system uses timed on and off settings, including automatic shut-off from late night to dawn.
The main lighting design approach of this project is the controlled use of light: the roof is shaped through gradients that follow the slopes, the lake extends that image through reflection, the bridge and building edges are lit for safety and definition, the entrances are marked by light from within, and the park lighting stays low and anti-glare. In the end, the Jinmao Langfang Longhe Central Park Club wins through precision, achieving the rare feat of creating something unique while remaining in the service of another art: architecture.
Project Information
Prize: Exterior Architectural Illumination at the LIT Lighting Design Awards
Lighting Design Company: J+B Studios Architectural Lighting
Lead Designer: Hen-Chao Shih
Other Designers’ names: Fiona Lang, Liping Deng
Architecture Company: Sunlay
Interior Design Company: Sunlay
Client: China Jinmao
Completion Date: June of 2024
Project Location: Longhe Central Park, Anci District, Langfang, Hebei Province
