Project Overview
The Royal Bank Building at 685 West Hastings Street is one of downtown Vancouver’s landmark heritage buildings. Vancouver Heritage Foundation identifies it as the city’s first bank skyscraper, completed in 1931, with a distinctive Florentine banking hall that forms a key part of its heritage significance.
Radiance Energy was selected to modernize the building’s aging lighting system while maintaining the visual character of the historic interior. The project required a custom approach that balanced energy performance, lighting quality, and heritage preservation.
The Challenge
The existing lighting system was aging, difficult to access, and expensive to maintain. Fluorescent ballasts produced an audible buzz that distracted both customers and employees, while the lighting itself did not adequately illuminate the building’s high-ceilinged interior.
The challenge was to introduce modern lighting technology without compromising the building’s historic character or altering the appearance of the interior.
The Solution
Radiance Energy developed a custom LED retrofit using carefully selected colour temperatures and fixture solutions that complemented the traditional design of the building.
The new lighting improved visibility and light output while reducing operating costs. Radiance’s live heritage page also notes that the retrofit addressed dim lighting and insufficient ballast performance in the large banking hall while maintaining the building’s architectural character.
Project Results
- More than 74% savings in energy costs
- 100% reduction in ongoing maintenance costs
- 10-year warranty
- 20-year life expectancy
- Improved light output and interior illumination
Modern Lighting Without Losing Historic Character
Heritage retrofits require a different design mindset. Energy efficiency cannot come at the expense of architectural integrity, especially in interiors where lighting contributes directly to the character of the space.
At the Royal Bank Building, Radiance focused on colour temperature, fixture selection, and placement to ensure the upgraded system felt appropriate to the historic banking hall while still delivering major reductions in energy and maintenance costs.
