By David Shiller
Indian Community School’s lighting retrofit stands as a testament to the power of design in educational environments. Located in Franklin, WI, the school’s original lighting, while functional, failed to honor the architectural language of the building and did not meet the dynamic needs of students and educators. The design challenge involved integrating advanced lighting technology within the architectural framework, enhancing both the visual narrative and the user experience throughout the 150,000-sq-ft building.
At the heart of the project is a deep respect for indigenous culture and the natural landscape. The school’s architecture—crafted from wood, copper, and limestone—embraces its wooded hillside setting, with expansive glazing that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior. The design team’s approach was to create a lighting system that would act as an extension of this philosophy, reinforcing the connection to nature and supporting the cultural narrative embedded in the building’s form.
The project was led by design firm Morlights, with the school engaging a general contractor for construction. The design process began in fall 2019 and concluded in fall 2023, spanning the challenges of the pandemic and requiring adaptive strategies to maintain momentum and design intent. Regular collaboration with educators, administrators, and facilities staff ensured that the lighting design responded to real-world needs and preferences, empowering users to shape their environment. The team embraced an iterative approach, refining solutions in response to on-site discoveries, user feedback, and evolving project constraints.
Morlights Founder and CEO Avraham Mor shared, “Working with the mandate of ‘no exposed conduit’ and maintaining the architectural finishes, the existing track sections were extended, and Lighting Services Inc. (LSI) with Xicato Bluetooth LEDs were used to provide focus, adjustability, increase light levels, as well as add drama for other use cases. In-grade lights and landscape lights were installed to give more of an exterior feel.”
The retrofit introduced over 2,700 discrete DALI devices, orchestrated across 480 zones of control; this granular approach to lighting control ensures that every space—from classrooms to communal areas—receives tailored illumination that responds to architectural intent, user activity, and the changing qualities of daylight throughout the year.
Central to the design is the ability to tune color temperature and dimming levels. In the main gathering spaces, Gotham Evo square downlights form a luminous grid, maintaining architectural clarity while offering a warm, inviting ambiance. Lumenwerx Squero linear fixtures accentuate the wooden slat ceilings, their up/down illumination enhancing the perception of materiality and volume.
In learning environments, Lumenwerx Squero indirect/direct fixtures were equipped with color tuning, 0.1% dimming, as well as daylight and vacancy sensing to deliver highly responsive task lighting. For example, each fixture is individually addressable, allowing teachers to modify presets and adapt lighting to pedagogical needs or specific activities. The result is a series of classrooms that each possess a distinct sense of place, defined by light as well as by architecture.
The lighting system’s backbone is a hybrid wired/wireless DALI solution, chosen to navigate the constraints of existing infrastructure and preserve architectural finishes. This system enables real-time tuning of light levels and color temperature, informed by inputs from daylight and occupancy sensors, as well as a rooftop sensor that tracks the quality and quantity of natural light entering the building. A Crestron ColorSync sensor, positioned on the roof, continuously monitors exterior daylight conditions, automatically adjusting the CCT of interior lighting to mirror the natural environment. This creates a harmonious visual experience that evolves with the seasons and weather, deepening the building’s dialogue with its surroundings.
Teachers and staff can override automated settings via a mobile app, ensuring that user agency remains central to the lighting experience. This flexibility supports a wide range of educational and community activities, from focused study to social gatherings.
Installation challenges required the adaptation of control strategy and luminaire details. “When it was discovered that some places in the tongue-and-groove ceiling were not accessible for new control wiring, many things had to shift,” shared Mor. “ALW and LSI embedded Xicato Bluetooth components into their fixtures, so we could control them using the Crestron system via UDP commands. Many of the Lumenwerx and Pinnacle fixtures had the same issue, and Casambi assisted by converting DALI-2 wired to DALI-2 wireless. As part of the project, all spaces now have daylight sensors and vacancy sensors.”
“COVID-19 created many challenges for the project,” Mor added. “This led to a number of issues through the process. In design, we had limited onsite exploratory and verification time. We had major issues getting products, causing the project to be completed over two summers, rather than one. The electrician had a difficult time getting staff to do the work, causing further delays. Of the products we received for the first summer, there were an exorbitant number of manufacturing issues such as mis-wired luminaires, incorrect drivers, incorrectly programmed drivers, manufactured 90-deg corners not being 90 deg, pinched wires in fixtures, and more.”
Despite these setbacks, the design integrity was preserved through close coordination with manufacturers and creative problem-solving on site. For example, the building’s wood, copper, and limestone materials are celebrated through carefully calibrated lighting that highlights texture, grain, and color. Additionally, windows are complemented by interior lighting that transitions seamlessly from daylight to electric light, maintaining visual comfort and continuity.
Pathways throughout the building are illuminated to support intuitive wayfinding and foster a sense of community. Updated track heads by LSI replaced HID and incandescent heads. Pinnacle Lighting was implemented in coves, as well as Pinnacle EDGE in other spaces. Wood circle luminaires from Beta Calco enhance classrooms along with pendants from ALW. Together, the lighting guides movement, accentuates gathering spaces, and delineates zones for learning, collaboration, and reflection.
In “The Place of Nations,” a central communal area, lighting accentuates native plantings, wooden artifacts, and a symbolic copper fountain representing the Mississippi River. Adjustable LSI track lighting as well as landscape-inspired luminaires create drama and flexibility, supporting both everyday use and special events. Gantom Lighting & Controls tree uplights, step lights by Bega, and paver luminaires from Filix Lighting all enhance the mood of the area.
The DALI protocol, which expects continuous power, was adapted through custom scripts that regularly broadcast color and intensity settings, ensuring that lights returned to the correct state after power cycling—a critical detail in maintaining the designed user experience.
The lighting retrofit achieved a 60% reduction in connected load compared to the original system, aligning with ASHRAE/IES 90.1 2019 standards. This substantial energy savings is coupled with improved visual comfort, enhanced wayfinding, and a stronger connection to the natural surroundings.
Every space is equipped with sensors that optimize energy use, dimming or switching off lights when natural daylight is sufficient or when spaces are unoccupied. These systems also interface with the building’s automation system, triggering HVAC setbacks and further reducing energy consumption.
The DALI system provides real-time feedback to facilities staff, flagging issues such as lamp failures or driver errors, and enabling proactive maintenance.
The new lighting system does more than illuminate; it supports the well-being and productivity of students, teachers, and community members. Adjustable illumination levels and color temperature create environments that reduce eye strain, support circadian rhythms, and promote alertness or relaxation as needed. Each space within the school is imbued with a unique lighting identity, reinforcing the architectural narrative and supporting a variety of activities.
The Indian Community School lighting retrofit exemplifies a holistic, design-led approach to educational environments. By weaving together advanced technology, cultural values, and architectural integrity, the project delivers a living lighting system—one that adapts, responds, and evolves along with its end users.
Through thoughtful integration of control, color, and materiality, the design elevates both the everyday experience and the extraordinary moments that define community life. In doing so, it sets a benchmark for how lighting can serve as both a functional infrastructure and an expressive, human-centered element in the built environment.
the Designers | Avraham Mor, Member IES, is the founder and CEO of Morlights.
Zahi Barajas, Member IES, is a designer at Morlights.
Casey Diers, Member IES, is a senior designer at Morlights.
Sean Murphy, Member IES, is a senior designer at Morlights.
Kelsey Nowak, Member IES, was formerly a designer at Morlights.
the Author | David Shiller is a business development and marketing consultant to the lighting industry as well as the publisher of LightNOW, an online lighting industry trade publication. He is a 20+-year veteran of the lighting industry and co-chair of the American Lighting Association Engineering Committee.