To say Patty Glasow is a career lighting designer is not an overstatement; in fact, she has never worked in any business other than lighting. First in theatre lighting in high school, and concurrently as a stage hand setting up shows for musicians such as Frank Zappa, Bette Midler, and Joni Mitchell. At UCLA, Patty specialized in theatre lighting. After college she worked for a lighting manufacturer and then as a lighting representative, but she quickly “ran back to lighting design. I love the collaboration,” she explains, “and I like the balance between technical and design. We know that our designs are not only beautiful, but also buildable and practical.” 

Working at the design arm of Disney, now called Imagineering, Patty transitioned into architectural lighting. From Disney, Patty joined Apeiro Design, where she was the first lighting professional Len Auerbach hired. She is now principal, and executive VP of Apeiro Design, which specializes in theatre consulting and AV technology design.

Patty’s design process is program/concept/process driven. “The first thing I do is to listen to the client, the architect, and the landscape architect talk about their spaces and ideas and hopes − the whole range of unconstrained blue-sky ideas as well as the practical details. I want to understand the design intent, use and feel of space, materiality, hierarchy, and focus. We listen carefully during programming and concept. People can’t always express what they need the light to do. It may not be the way we as lighting professionals describe things, but you’ll understand their intent if you listen.”  

The process can be overcomplicated by the many considerations that go into a project. “Lighting designers often get bogged down by the numbers early in the design: code requirements, recommended practice requirements, energy requirements, wellness requirements and calculations such as illumination and luminance levels and watts per square foot. It’s all important, and we have to address these issues, but the numbers shouldn’t wag the lighting design. Design and calculations are often figured out simultaneously, but concept is always first, so I listen and engage and keep the program and conceptual goals in front of me.”

That’s a reason people won’t see a trademark style in Apeiro Design’s projects. For Patty and team, it’s about program and concept.

Patty has a unique viewpoint on lighting with experience in both theatre lighting and architectural lighting. “In theatre, you’re revealing the moment – the scene, the actors, the emotion. In architecture, you’re revealing the environment, the material, the mood, and the people. In both mediums, lighting is a principal player. It focuses your attention, shows you where to look, and especially in exterior environments, shows you where to go. Outside at night, light is special. I think humans have a natural inclination to be drawn to light. It’s comforting, safe, revealing, and it connects people to each other and the environment.” 

“I love the variety of what we do. Right now, our firm is working on projects for diverse venues, including theaters, museums, a comedy club, universities, corporate offices, library, and historical renovations.” Patty shares four projects that reflect that variety. 

Windhover Contemplative Center at Stanford University is a meditative retreat and an example of how spaces are becoming more porous with the blending of interior and exterior. Paintings by former faculty member Nathan Oliveira are the focus of the space whether viewing from indoors or outdoors. “Our lighting reinforces the transparency of the building and connects the viewer to the interior and exterior. It is subtle and calm and reflects the contemplative and meditative nature of the Center and focuses your attention on the art or the landscape.” 

Arizona State University Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center’s facade lighting is a high-energy, kinetic experience. It reflects the MIX’s media and digital technology focus. “The façade is wrapped in an array of 6-inch on-center vertical rows of dots, each of which is a red/green/blue color-changing LED. Essentially, the array creates a large, low-resolution screen on which each pixel can be individually programmed for color changing, pixel mapping, or video imagery.” The lighting even serves as an educational tool, as it can be programmed by students and staff. 

Santana Row is Silicon Valley’s premiere shopping mall and residential district. Patty’s client was a real estate developer that constructed a private office building and 700 Santana Row, a large plaza that is open for public use. “The plaza is busy at night because of the adjacent restaurants and shops. We lit it to be a comfortable, fun, and festive space at night with layers of light from higher pole lighting for general circulation along the perimeter to lower lights under planters, embedded in pavers, lighting in the fountain, and uplighting in palm trees and highlighting a huge feature oak. The layers create an engaging experience.”

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education & Leadership features a rooftop event space and outdoor deck, another example of the blending of indoor and outdoor spaces. The lighting design for the roof deck is intentionally minimal to blend with the minimalist architecture of the building. “We wanted to keep the lighting low so not to obscure or compete with views. We integrated standard lighting product in a custom-detailed guardrail. Low bollards lighting the rest of the roof not covered by the guardrail.”

After a lifetime spent in the lighting business, Patty’s enthusiasm for the lighting design profession hasn’t waned. What keeps her motivated and excited? “Still the collaboration. In this profession, it’s always a group effort. Also, the technology is always changing, which is both exciting and challenging. The fundamentals of design don’t change, but the technology does. I like that what we do makes a difference. We work with a lot of cultural and arts organizations, educational institutions, and community developers. We’re about to start a project with a local institution in a major urban center that feeds and supports the homeless. And, last, I love the hands-on work and getting out in the field. We just opened the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington in DC. We were onsite for a week working with crews to focus the exhibition and then our team spent a couple days finessing the lighting and tweaking light levels to National Archive requirements. It was great!”