Grace Church of Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn, NY | 2014

Grace Church underwent an extensive restoration and renovation in 2013-2014, during which a brilliant blue, star-patterned ceiling was discovered beneath a drab, non-historic, brown finish. The celestial ceiling, with over one thousand eight-pointed stars in gold, yellow and red, is seen through a canopy of wooden trusses and strap work representing a forest. The lighting program amplifies the dazzling painted ceiling, highlights distinctive architectural features and increases usable light levels for the aging congregation in the pews below. A secondary layer of light was created with new pendant luminaires, which recreated the historic church chandeliers using contemporary technology. Together, the track system and pendants create a rich, textured environment for the Church’s revitalized interior that is both energy-efficient and maintenance-friendly.

 

CLIENT
Grace Church Brooklyn Heights

TEAM
Leo Blackman, restoration/renovation architect
Evergreene Architectural Arts, conservation

RECOGNITION
2015 New York Landmarks Conservancy Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award
2015 Lumen Citation Award, Illuminating Engineering Society
2015 Brooklyn Heights Association Excellence in Historic Preservation
2014 Victorian Society of New York Preservation Award

 

Photography: Courtesy of Whitney Cox