When it opened in 1859, the Henry Shaw Museum (now the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum) was the scientific heart of the Missouri Botanical Garden. It served various functions over time, from research lab to café, eventually losing much of its early luster. Recent renovations however uncovered an unexpected gem: three original ceiling frescoes hidden beneath layers of plaster.

Restoring and illuminating the mural would prove to be a challenge. Damaged beyond repair, the mural was traced onto mylar sheets to be meticulously re-created by hand in a studio under the newly specified museum lighting. The sheets were then applied to the museum ceiling like wallpaper.

The ceiling, however, offered very limited space for lighting. To achieve even illumination across the mural, Lisa Reed of Envision Lighting Design chose TROV for its consistent beam in a low-profile package. Faithfully replicating the warmth and color rendering properties of earlier incandescent lighting, “the TROV fixtures do a fantastic job of revealing the beauty of the ceiling fresco,” explains Reed.

The results speak for themselves: the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum is an IES Award of Merit winner.