Taking shape outside Atlanta in the gently rolling hills of Palmetto, Georgia is a planned community named Serenbe. Unique for this region it is a New Urbanist inspired Utopia, a place to forget the pressures of big city living and reconnect to the inner child. I say child in that it is with a touch of whimsy that the lighting designer Robert Rausch conceived of the swirls of ductile iron used as street lights in the development. Their beautiful arching shapes support fluted shades at the ends while strings of small lights festoon across the "arms".
Robinson craftsmen initially had reservations about combining utility with such an imaginative concept. By manipulating the artist's rendering and with the aid of computer modeling many of the perceived problems were solved and the piece went into production. As you can see the results are unlike anything ever seen on the average city street. But then again Serenbe is meant to be much more than an ordinary place. It's meant to be a complete state of mind.
