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Dark for over 30 years, the Great Dome of MIT's Building 10 has once again been restored as a "nighttime beacon" on the city skyline. Commodore worked with MIT designers and architects to revamp the defunct lighting system. Twelve new lighting fixtures now illuminate the 1916 Roman Numerals and the limestone façade of Building 10.
Four phases of lighting were required to fully illuminate the building. The lower corenas allow for light on the Roman Numerals, while the upper cornea includes lights that shine on the vertical edge of the dome. LED fixutres light the vertical face of the limestone. Three sets of floodlights, from two sides of the building, shine on the bowl of the dome. Three floodlights directed at the building make the structure highly visible again.
Crews worked from lifts sixty-seven feet in the air, keeping the public walkway open throughout the project. Lights, some positioned only six inches deep, were carefully placed to avoid visibility from the ground.
The transformation made the skyline brighter and greener. As part of a campus-wide energy conservation initiative, the dome lighting system uses the same amount of electricity it takes to run two hair dryers. The lighting system incorporates energy-saving-light-emitting diode (LED) fixutres that save energy as they transform the Cambridge skyline each night.
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