To celebrate winter in Descanso Gardens, families play and explore, safely guided along by warmly illuminated walkways that provide a consistent visual reference for wayfinding while colored light visually enhances the overhead tree canopies, glowing flowers, and stream banks. Distant landscapes and sculptures draw guests through the experience where each featured plant or area requires a tailored approach. Low-glare fixtures, high overhead and at foot level, largely disappear within plantings.
Descanso Gardens Foundation required non-intrusive, temporary equipment, which led to a unique design approach for fixtures and mounting conditions. The hidden cabling, removable mountings, and fixtures recede from public view and de-mount at season’s end to minimally impact plants. Often, a single fixture is attached to a vertical pipe and weighted base to avoid obtrusive instrument clusters. Control systems manage the theatrical sound and light programmed loops within each area, and guests are engaged in the immersive environment by using interactive elements found in multiple installations, including artist Tom Fruin’s colorful house sculptures— temporarily playing with nearby fixtures’ color and illumination settings, which auto-reset after one minute. The project resulted in 3,700 nightly guests enjoying nature while supporting the organization’s annual revenue, membership, and educational programs.
