To transform a Chicago restaurant into a bustling French brasserie, Morlights integrated state-of-the-art lighting and controls throughout the two-story space, blanketing red-leather booths, lush velvet banquettes, antique mirrors, and elaborate metalwork in warm, smoky illumination.
Each of the restaurant’s distinct areas required a unique lighting approach, beginning with the main dining space, where archways and ornate tiling, mixed with industrial metal elements, call to mind France’s historic eateries and underground train stations. Cove lighting above windows aimed up into the architectural corners provides a full warm ambiance rather than a low vertical illumination plane often found in restaurants. Doing so provides a full environment of luxurious ambient illumination that immerses visitors in the dining experience.
Ambient light is supplemented by downlights—used sparingly, the luminaires seemingly disappear into the overall design—as well as daylight from windows, which is matched by illumination from a remarkable 20’ x 30’ faux skylight fashioned from painted, pressed-form plastic panels backlit by tunable-white LEDs located just behind it.
In the adjacent atrium-style conservatory, a ceiling mirror stands in for a skylight, reflecting and extending the restaurant’s warm aesthetic. That warmth continues upstairs in the moody speakeasy, where plush, seating and bright red finishes create the vibe of a tucked-away nightclub. Uplight on curtains behind banquettes provides the main source of illumination, in addition to just six ceiling downlights for walkway and egress illumination.
The restaurant’s decorative lighting, selected by the interior designer, is dimmable, while all architectural lighting—including the ceiling LEDs, downlights, and coves, as well as lighting for the liquor risers, wine display, front and back of the bar, and shelving—is also white tunable. A DALI control system with digital dimming capabilities enables staff to manually select from pre-set scenes for daytime, evening, late evening and nighttime. In addition, multiple zones of control—for example, 60 zones in the main dining room alone—offer the ability to choose appropriate color temperatures and light levels for each element of the space.
By implementing tunable-white technology within concealed lighting, Morlights induced a feeling of nighttime and warmth in the space, while still providing functional illumination for staff as well as diners reading menus, eating, and socializing. Without downlights directly illuminating tables, and with lighting that fades slowly enough to remain unnoticed, Le Select can immerse guests in an authentic French bistro experience—without ever leaving Chicago.
George Lambros Photography