GRAEF is honored to announce our recent recognition by the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) as a merit award recipient for the 2021 Illumination Awards. The IES Illumination Awards program recognizes individuals for professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design.

GRAEF is among only one other merit award winner in Milwaukee, Wis. for our corporate headquarters office lighting project “A Heritage In Lighting” by GRAEF team members, Erv Stern and Beth Bruss.

The Inspiration Behind Our Office Lighting

Through lighting design, GRAEF pays homage to the firm’s history:

• I-Beam shaped light fixtures hang above walkways and workspaces recognizing the company founders who were structural engineers.
• Wave-like fixtures hang in the main entry to represent the firm’s structural engineering role on the internationally recognized Milwaukee Art Museum.
• Illuminated pipe light fixtures surround the café lounge area represent plumbing piping, while also being laid out in a pattern that looks like a street map to represent transportation engineering.
• Old clear, non-diffused skylights over the space were replaced with fritted, non-glare tinted skylights, with auto-sensing vertical shades, along with energy-efficient LED lighting, daylighting controls, and other sensors.