Creating a vibrant extension to St Louis’s premier attraction, the Saarinen Arch, has given the city a new public space, adding excitement for visitors of all ages. The Gateway Arch Museum uses extremely well-lit interior surfaces to ease the transition from the vast, unobscured day-lit park and plaza outdoors to the subterranean galleries inside. The bright, unifying ceiling is the main architectural feature, a collaboration between the architectural team and Tillotson Design Associates. Above, painted-white beams reflect linear uplighting back down through aluminum tubes, creating a consistent, luminous plane across the entire museum. This overarching glow could be mistaken for daylight, mitigating contrasts with the outdoors and enticing visitors to travel below grade.  

Tillotson turned to lensed linear lighting from Zumtobel to mark important areas of the museum with a with a striking line of light, and to draw visitors to vital areas. It is common to use architectural lighting to define areas, but SLOTLIGHTIII’s smooth, seamless lines create breakthrough moments in this panoply of brightnesses. At the ticket counter, SLOTLIGHTIII attracts patrons and provides ample lighting for transactions. Note that the queue area is discretely supported by PANOS recessed downlighting, also from Zumtobel, in the blonde wood ceiling. 

Recessed along the flanking escalators, SLOTLIGHTIII ushers patrons down into the galleries below. At the lowest level, the Multipurpose Room is nestled back, between the stairs. A prominent line of SLOTLIGHTIII beckons visitors from anywhere across the double-height exhibition space, helping them to discover that popular destination. 

“The brightly lit ceiling creates the impression of a space flooded with daylight that draws visitors in and gives a real sense of connection with the outside environment. Clean and white, SLOTLIGHTIII stands out brilliantly, attracting visitors to key destinations.” 

Suzan Tillotson, Founding Partner, Tillotson Design Associates 


Owner: United States National Park Service

Architect: Cooper Robertson, James Carpenter Design Associates, Trivers Associates

Lighting Design: Tillotson Design Associates