Shrewsbury Lighting Designer Illuminates New National Memorial

Shrewsbury resident Randy Burkett, president and design principal of Randy Burkett Lighting Design, played a fundamental role in the design of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial that opened to the public last month in Washington, D.C.

Burkett and his Webster Groves-based firm, in collaboration with New Jersey-based David Mintz, spent several years formulating and designing the intricate details of the lighting that illuminates the MLK memorial.

The memorial opened to the public on Aug. 22. A formal dedication is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Burkett, 55, said the lighting is designed to be functional as well as artistic.

“Many times we’re called on to solve technical lighting problems,” Burkett said. “At the same time, there are artistic, aesthetic aspects to how light reveals space. The MLK Memorial is a really good example of how we had to solve technical problems because there will be millions of visitors there, and many of them will come at night."

Artistically, Burkett said, the life and works of Dr. King served as the fundamental cornerstone behind the design.

“Almost every major decision made on this project focused on
the enhancement of the memorial as a place of reflection, education, honor and reverence,” Burkett said.

Artists and architects involved in the design of the memorial used elements of water, stone and landscape to convey three fundamental and recurring themes of Dr. King's life: justice, democracy and hope. The Burkett/Mintz team used light to enhance each of these elements and reveal the meanings and messages of the memorial.

"Lighting plays a reinforcing and supporting role to the principal focus of the space,” Burkett said.

Located on the Tidal Basin in the National Mall, the memorial includes the “Mountain of Despair," the “Stone of Hope” and the “Inscription Walls”.

Designers from the Burkett/Mintz team used lighting to create a dramatic visual contrast between the entrance to the plaza, known as the Mountain of Despair, and the central focus of the plaza, the Stone of Hope.

To stress the symbolic struggle and transition for visitors walking through the Mountain of Despair, only spill light from the Stone of Hope and surrounding structures dimly illuminates the passageway. Revealed in the middle of the open plaza, a 30-foot sculpture of
Dr. King emerges from the Stone of Hope. The figure of Dr. King is lit more intensely, enveloping the statue while allowing inscriptions on each side of the stone to be visible at night.

The plaza is bordered by two, 450-foot Inscription Walls that feature more than a dozen Dr. King quotes engraved in granite. Grazing illumination of the Inscription Walls reveals the engraved words at night while serving as the primary source of light for the plaza walkway.

The Yoshino cherry trees that line the Tidal Basin were also incorporated into the design of the memorial. Kidney-shaped islands of flowering bulbs and additional cherry trees were added to
enhance the landscape and break up the open space of the plaza. Uplighting of the trees softens the appearance of the memorial at night, while providing functional spill-light illumination to pedestrian pathways. A similar effect was used in the trees along and above the Inscription Walls.  

“We’re very pleased with it,” Burkett said. “I think it’s successful. I’ve had several people associated with the team say ‘We’re going to tell our friends that visit the memorial to go at night because it’s very dramatic and has a presence.’  Many of the memorials that are in Washington have a different element to them at night than they do during the day. Of course, we have a strong message to enforce here, too, and I think it’s more dramatic than many of the others.”

The Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation through its architect, McKissack & McKissack, selected Burkett and Mintz, for the lighting design in 2007. This year’s opening represents years of coordinated planning and execution.

“When doing a significant memorial on the Tidal Basin of our nation’s capital, everyone from the National Park Service to the politicians to the public is involved in the process,” Burkett said. “It is extremely rewarding to steer through such an onerous journey and bring the vision to life.”

The National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the site location for the memorial in December 1999. The $120 million memorial site is set on a 4-acre plot at the north east corner of the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson and
Roosevelt Memorials. Construction commenced in 2006. The lighting was installed between February and June of this year.

In the St. Louis region, Burkett’s award-winning firm has illuminated the Jefferson National Memorial Gateway Arch, Grand Center, the St. Louis Science Center, the Jewel Box, the Old Post Office and Customs House, Lumiere Place, and City Garden. The firm is currently commissioned for projects in Mexico, China and Korea.