How to...Light a Bar/Restaurant Part 1

My friend Tony called me on Monday. He owns a bar in the middle of Boston. Its actually pretty well known, and they are opening a top floor as well as lighting an outside space. I have not been in his bar in years(because I am a little too old), but I was impressed with his recent remodel. Its a nice place. Have to admit, I was surprised.

So I met with the architect and another partner. The outside patio/bar has to be completed by Marathon Day, which is April 17. The bar is at the end of the route. Having run Boston 5 times, it is the most appealing site of the day.

So the first problem is the job must be specified, approved, shipped and installed in roughly 3 weeks. The second problem is that lights cannot be hung from the sidewall. The third problem is the main light is a metal hallide fixture. Customers are complaining about this light. If we look at the Kelvin Graph in the previous post, Metal hallide has the same color temperature as sunlight at 5500 degrees Kelvin. His customers are looking at a miniature sun. Also, it is impossible to effectively light an area with one light.

The last hurdle is the budget as I have been reminded repeatedly(but in a nice way and the guy did offer me free beer). My proposed solution is to install post lanterns and wash the wall with landscape lighting

I will post pictures on Monday and show the finished product on a future post.