The first highly energy-efficient US embassy – in Helsinki, Finland – has installed an organic light emitting diode (OLED) luminaire from Acuity Brands, which was customized with a unique design for the Embassy conference room.
The Trilia OLED luminaire from Winona Lighting was suited to the embassy because of the modular units that allow single luminaires to combine into distinctive, organic patterns. Ideal for the size and height of one of the conference room spaces, the Trilia design emphasizes the thinness of OLEDs.
The OLED lighting was part of the sustainable building design strategy that will help enable the Embassy to achieve its energy goal of using 38 percent less energy than other buildings of its type. Through these efforts in design, it is on track to be the first Embassy in the world to be certified Platinum under the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard.
OLED luminaires can be applied in a multitude of ways to provide accent or functional lighting that breaks away from rectangular grid layouts, affording greater design freedom in interior spaces.
Philips invested $57 million in a new OLED line in its Aachen, Germany factory and is touting OLED lighting applications, which are particularly suited to high-end retail and hospitality markets for decorative and ambience-creation purposes. The thin, flat nature of OLEDs makes it possible to integrate light in furniture, walls, ceilings or floors in ways that are impossible with other light sources.