May 15, 2019
Mark Loeffler is a professional member of the International Association of Lighting Designers and a LEED Fellow and has practiced lighting and sustainable design consulting for more than 30 years. Based in the New Haven area, Mark enjoys working with innumerable architects, engineers, organizations, and institutions across the Northeast US on a wide range of ambitious and notable projects of every type and scale.
Mark collaborates with architects, engineers, planners, and facility managers to help them better leverage their own lighting and sustainable design talents and resources to deliver inspired and vital buildings. From hourly consulting on individual project challenges to more comprehensive involvement in strategic planning, Mark assists with architectural lighting, day lighting, and sustainable design workshops, concept development, performance criteria, analytical requirements, peer review, and benchmarking readiness.
Mark Loeffler - Get To Know Mark
Mark grew up in Austin, Texas in the 1960s and 1970s. He started off at the University of Texas as a novelist but became an assistant lighting designer of Austin Ballet Theater. He then finished his degree in Humanities but focused on lighting as a career. In 1987, Mark and his wife moved to New Haven, Connecticut and finished with an MFA in Agricultural Lighting. Very quickly, Mark started integrated lighting and agricultural lighting, then got involved with energy efficiency and design.
“I went to work for a woman who started her own firm that started integrated lighting and agricultural lighting and that’s where I really got involved with energy efficiency and sustainable lighting design in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, well before LEED.” - Mark Loeffler
Early Sustainability Journey
Mark made the change from theatrical design to agricultural pretty quickly. Mark took what he knew from theatrical design and applied it to his agricultural practice. Mark admired that people respond to lighting in different ways and the combination of natural and artificial lighting is where he found his passion. Mark uses this as a framing tool to approach a design for his projects. Mike eventually worked for Howard J. Brown who let him explore this passion and taught him how to do better with less.
“Howard Brown was a huge influence and gave me the opportunity to practice lighting design as part as early sustainable designs environmental management systems for corporations, which would become a big part in the sustainable movement.” - Mark Loeffler
Proudest Achievements
Mark has had the pleasure to work on very notable buildings around the Connecticut area. He has been blessed with the opportunity to work on over 100 projects at Yale University and led the early beginnings of the sustainable movement on campus. He helped with the Brain Museum which was their first LED project and won Sustainable Project of the Year from the Illuminating Engineering Society. Mark was the founding member of the New Haven office that led the design team for the Brain Museum.
“I’ve had the privilege to work on a lot of notable buildings since the 2000s, especially here in New Haven. Working at Yale University, we have been able to save 29% of their energy and have them use LEED Gold. So, over the years I’ve been able to work on over 100 projects.” - Mark Loeffler
Book Recommendations
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
by Malcolm Wells
Tune into this podcast to listen to the rest of Mark Loeffler’s journey in this podcast hosted by Charlie.
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