Crystal Swell

Preciosa Lighting for Los Angeles 
International Airport (LAX)

The Building - West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal

Preciosa Lighting designed and produced a statement lighting installation for West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The design concept the teams worked on was called ‘ocean swell.’ They borrowed the dynamic oceanic theme of the International Terminal’s “breaking wave” roof and injected it with a feel of “mid-century jet age” modern simplicity. 

Innovative lighting brought to life

Preciosa’s brief was to create a dynamic installation that attracts travellers from three levels and can withstand up to seven degrees on the Richter scale. This was a design, engineering, construction and installation challenge that required multiple Preciosa teams to contribute their creativity and know-how. Crystal Swell is the perfect example of our ‘challenge accepted’ way of thinking.

Design Engineered

Design Engineered

Large crystal lighting installations always look exquisite but there’s typically a lot of tough engineering that goes into their creation. For this lighting, the Preciosa R&D team had to balance the dazzling design with the fact the light weighed 4,000 kilograms and is located in the seismically active area of LAX.

Not Just a Pretty Light

Preciosa’s R&D team had to calculate, simulate and test every aspect of the light to ensure the installation met all safety regulations for seismically active areas. At the same time, installation had to be considered. How can we ensure proper installation of 65 metres of crystal ribbon through the building's three levels?

Not Just a Pretty Light
Design-Forward Solutions

Design-Forward Solutions

The luminaire features timeless and elegant clear optical glass and polished stainless steel. It is created from three flexible metal ribbons lined with crystal cut prisms. The Construction team built a metal structure for the middle of the installation and then securely attached the crystal ribbons to this stable tube. This satisfied the design requirements and the safety issues.

Created to Amaze

RGBW LED strips were added for an extra sense of connection and fun. The airport can create various dynamic lighting scenes to celebrate local or global events. This addition makes Crystal Swell an attraction travellers will seek out.

Created to Amaze

Positive Praise

“We always envisioned that it would be a prominent piece but I must say that seeing it in place, it is even more impressive than I imagined it would be,” said Brent Kelley, from Corgan in association with Gensler, who supplied the project’s architectural and interior design services in association with Gensler.

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7 degrees on the Richter scale

17 metres

65 metres of crystal ribbon

4,000 kilograms

Meet the Crystal Swell Team

Creating a seismically safe and dynamic lighting installation sounds like a design challenge one might want to pass on. Wondering how the Preciosa Lighting team managed to create a safe, stable, and dynamic light without sacrificing the beautiful design? Read our blog post with interviews from the design and engineering teams.

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Your Lighting Partner

Crystal Swell is just one example of the design-forward lighting Preciosa creates globally. No matter the challenges a location may bring, Preciosa’s R&D team can engineer a solution, while our Design team ensures the look and feel of the design is preserved. Custom crystal lighting can be added to your project. We’ll help you do it.

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