Lighting Project In The Works For Madison's Historic Borough Hall

MADISON, NJ — The Hartley Dodge Memorial might be getting a lighting makeover, according to a presentation made at a recent Madison Borough Council meeting.

A lighting designer from New York-based Office for Visual Interaction (OVI), which has designed lighting for other historic structures such as the Canadian Parliament Building was among those who spoke about the firm's plans to change the nighttime lighting of Hartley Dodge Memorial.

The Hartley Dodge Foundation, a private organization assigned with the building's historic preservation thanks to an endowment from Mrs. Dodge, hired OVI at no cost to borough taxpayers, officials said.

According to John Forte, who chairs the building and grounds committee for the foundation's trustee board, the foundation decided to light the building's exterior last year after the borough began renovations of the Hartley Dodge Memorial plaza.

"About a year and half ago as the plaza project was getting underway, we looked at the project and we said, 'we believe we can enhance this.' The lighting needed to be enhanced for code reasons anyway and we felt we could do it in a way that was in keeping with the historic nature of the building," Forte said.

According to OVI lighting designer Marcus Fuerderer, the designs call for variable lighting of the Kings Road building's facade, central portico, bell tower and columns, as well as handrail lighting in the plaza.

The building, which serves as Madison's Borough Hall, could also be colored for holidays and special occasions, Fuerderer added. "Essentially we are creating a backdrop for urban and cultural events."

The lighting concept's main goal was to highlight some of the building's historic features while also bringing the Harley Dodge Memorial into the twenty-first century and making it a building that remains relevant within the community.

"We want to be very delicate and subtle with the articulation. We don't want this to be like a casino or anything else that stands out in the night, really calling attention. What we want is a translation of what it is during the daytime," Fuerderer said.

Adding the new lights would not require heavy construction, as the infrastructure was already added when the building went under renovations last year, Mayor Bob Conley said.

According to Tyler Merson, project manager for the foundation, phase one of the project, which includes the relocation of floodlights on the lawn, replacement of portico and rear building lighting, and installation of individual column lighting, will begin this fall and continue into the spring.

The second phase, which will begin in the spring, will include the installation of new handrail lighting at the main, east and west entrances, as well as the replacement of lights in the streetlamps in front of the building along Kings Road, which will be less bright and more in keeping with the rest of the projected lighting plan.

Merson stated that the final stage of the project would be the removal of four existing stanchion lights.

Borough Council Member Rachel Ehrlich raised concerns over possible light pollution due to the new additions.

In response, Fuerderer said that OVI implemented the same lighting style for the New York Times Building. "The majority of luminaires and lighting hardware that we are installing is facing downwards so the reflected light can be essentially neglected, there is not a lot of that."

The only potential issue would be the accentuation of the building's front columns, which would necessitate upward facing lights, but Fuerderer assured the board that those lights could be dimmed as needed.

In a final response Mayor Conley said the plans look like a "great project" for Madison and thanked the foundation trustees for their support of the project.