Chandler City Hall

An iconic building for Chandler, Arizona

This elegant city hall building, designed by SmithGroupJJR, creates a sense of identity for Chandler, Arizona to encourage activity and interaction between visitors and locals alike. The multi-layer façade system and spacious courtyards were crucial in achieving sustainability goals in this desert climate. Innovative building design strategies, paired with iconic architecture, resulted in this building being recognized with numerous awards including nine IES Illumination Awards, the IALD Lighting Design Excellence Award for exterior facades, AIA Top Ten Green Project for 2012, and the Engineering News Record’s Project of the Year.

The location, designed to house the city’s offices, has become a favorite for local photographers. “I’m amazed at how many great shots there are in this complex. The lighting is phenomenal,” said city spokesman Craig Younger, an amateur photographer.

Among the favorite spots is beneath a five-story “Turbulent Shade” that covers the building’s west side. Created by California artist Ned Kahn, the illuminated work is made of 1,000 rectangles of perforated stainless-steel that undulate with the breeze above the “Chandler City Hall” letters. The multi-purpose complex reflects the surrounding terrain and consists of council chambers, administrative offices, a public television studio, and a 330-space parking structure.

It is estimated that pedestrians can reach any location on the Historic Downtown square, as well as the Community Center, Senior Center, Library, and Transportation and Development buildings in an easy walk of five minutes or less.

BEGA’s versatile light building elements and rectangular bollards were chosen for this spectacular setting. The light building elements and bollards create a unified lighting system across the walkways and roads of this large, downtown campus. The form of these luminaires complement the many linear elements that make up this beautiful building façade.