KLH set to bring history to life through courthouse illumination
The Holmes County Courthouse lighting project stepped into a new phase recently when KLH senior lighting designer Matt Minard and lead electric engineer Kelly Huston laid out the game plan proposal for the project to the Holmes County commissioners.
Holmes County people love to tell the story of their past, whether it is historical moments, monumental accomplishments or the rich history of the Amish and Mennonite people.
One of the county’s most prominent pieces of history will soon have some serious light shed on it, that being the Holmes County Courthouse in the county seat of Millersburg.
Recently, the Holmes County commissioners met with a pair of representatives from KLH Engineering of Cincinnati via Zoom to explore options on better illuminating the recently renovated courthouse.
KLH senior lighting designer Matt Minard and lead electric engineer Kelly Huston rolled out their plan on joining art and science together in a way that would best represent Holmes County, the courthouse and the people of the county.
Minard said KLH’s desire is to not only tell the history, but also to draw people to the county’s most recognizable building, highlighting the statue of Lady Justice and the newly rebuilt courthouse clock tower.
“I want to tell the story of the courthouse,” Minard said. “I want to study the building itself and capture the history. As a designer we want to bring out and illuminate the story and the history of it. Done right, you can really make the magic happen.”
In its infant stages, the project is in its conceptual design phase. KLH is already into the developmental stages, and according to Minard, the timeline could well see the project getting underway soon with a completion date sometime next spring.
KLH will create numerous mock-ups to share with the commissioners as they zero in on what the commissioners want to portray in the lighting.
Minard said there will be plenty of conversation between the two parties before anything is set in stone — stone that was mined and created by Briar Hill Stone right here in Holmes County — and they will take their time to make sure the project is done the right way, rather than rushing through it.
KLH Engineering will provide a plan that clearly defines all the costs to ensure when the project is bid, and the commissioners will know exactly what to expect from a financial standpoint.
The commissioners have said they are open to a variety of suggestions but want to be fiscally responsible as they define and shape exactly what type of lighting and the extent of how much lighting will be placed around the courthouse to make it “pop.”
The commissioners opted to go with KLH because of the company’s expertise and its long history of successfully illuminating other buildings and structures.
“At the end of the day, we are artists who work with light,” Minard said. “Our first approach is the artistic approach, especially when we deal with historical features. We are currently going through some internal testing, with software that helps us inform our decisions.”
Minard said by the time the project is complete, they will have the best possible solution that best fits the commissioners’ vision and budget.