YORKVILLE, N.Y.—Meyda Tiffany, a leading manufacturer of decorative lighting, has begun installing the largest LED chandelier in the world. After nearly a year of planning, Meyda recently completed production in its manufacturing facilities in Yorkville, N.Y. (outside of Utica, N.Y.).
Designed and engineered with state-of-the-art technology and energy efficiency for a local performing arts theater, the Meyda Chandelier illuminates with 328 LEDs made by Philips Luxeon (same LEDs used for New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square) using 1,120 total watts (equivalent of energy used for one-drip coffeemaker), instead of conventional incandescent bulbs requiring 7,435 watts (energy equivalent of 17 refrigerators). LEDs have a lamp life of 15 years or more, unlike incandescent bulbs that need to be replaced every two years or less.
Custom crafted of steel, blown-glass and acrylic, this lighting fixture is 35 feet in diameter, 17 feet tall, and 7,000 pounds. It is assembled in several sections of tubular steel trusses, plus a dozen sections of other steel trusses, framework and decorative embellishments—all of which are being shipped and reassembled.
The chandelier, hand-finished in Antique Gold and bronze, was designed to complement the theater’s Mexican baroque Moorish theme. Each truss includes a steel arm featuring a hand-painted green and white, red glass-eyed serpent spiraling down. At the tip of each arm is a bobeche (eight in all), each with a diameter of 36 inches and designed to hold seven candles, ranging up to two feet in height. The bottom of each bobeche has been designed with a red and blue acrylic to coordinate with the nuances of the theater’s color scheme. Sculpted steel candlesticks simulating wax drippings feature blown-glass diffusers replicating candletip flames.
The project also includes a constant tension device that lowers the chandelier from the ceiling so it can be re-lamped, cleaned and maintained easily. The chandelier’s interior includes a catwalk that cannot be seen from below, but enables maintenance personnel to walk around the fixture.
Go to Meyda Tiffany Lighting.
