Kenny Barnes is the General Manager of FRM Lighting & Controls in Charlotte, where he leads a team working across the design and construction industry to support lighting and controls solutions throughout the region.

His career began at Acuity Brands, where a rotational leadership program exposed him to nearly every side of the lighting industry before ultimately leading him into the manufacturer representative world.

Our conversation explored an often overlooked but increasingly important part of the design process. We discussed how lighting representatives fit within the broader AEC industry, the evolution of lighting controls and experiential design, and why existing buildings present some of the most interesting opportunities in Charlotte today...

Branden Piks:

"...As lighting and controls become more sophisticated, how do you balance what's technologically possible with what actually makes sense for the client?"

Kenny Barnes:

"...the more elaborate something becomes, the more failure points you introduce. You have to consider the amount of time, money, maintenance, and service the client is willing to invest.

​Read the Full Conversation Here​

People mover in lieu of light rail stop at CLT Airport

"Instead of a much-desired direct light rail stop, Charlotte Douglas International Airport is planning to build a "people mover" that will be a roughly seven-minute ride between the future multibillion-dollar Silver Line and the terminal..."

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How does this impact our region?

Charlotte’s decision to connect the future Silver Line to the airport through a people mover raises an important question about how we plan infrastructure as our region continues to grow. The success of this investment won’t be measured solely by how efficiently passengers move between a train and the terminal, but by what the infrastructure unlocks around it.

Charlotte Douglas is already one of our region’s most significant economic engines. The airport generates approximately $40 billion in economic impact across North and South Carolina and supports more than 184,000 jobs. Creating a stronger transit connection between CLT, Uptown, and the broader region has the potential to make that economic engine even more accessible while creating new opportunities for development along the way.

The proposed airport station is particularly interesting because it would sit within the future Destination District rather than directly at the terminal. Planned as a mixed-use gateway with hotels, restaurants, retail, and other commercial uses, the district creates an opportunity for the transit investment to do more than serve airport passengers. It can help establish an entirely new development node at one of Charlotte’s most visible gateways.

We’ve already seen what transit can do for development in Charlotte. Nearly $10 billion in economic development has occurred along the Blue Line since it opened. The city’s planning efforts for the Silver Line are attempting to build on that success while also addressing lessons learned around affordability, displacement, and ensuring existing communities benefit from the investment.

From an architecture and development perspective, that’s the bigger opportunity. Infrastructure shapes where people move, but it also influences where businesses invest, where neighborhoods grow, and where development becomes viable. If the Silver Line, Destination District, and airport connection are planned as one connected system, this investment could become a catalyst for a much larger transformation of west Charlotte.

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Key Takeaways for Charlotte's Built Environment...

• Infrastructure drives development. Transit investment can unlock new opportunities for growth.
• Connectivity creates value. Better access strengthens businesses, neighborhoods, and economic opportunity.
• Stations can become destinations. Mixed-use development can turn transit stops into community anchors.
• Growth should strengthen communities. New investment should create opportunity for the neighborhoods it serves.
• Plan the pieces together. Transit, development, mobility, and public space are stronger as one connected system.

Badie Architects | ESCA Playa | North Coast, Egypt

​Beach club reinvents cavelike forms with futuristic feel.​

Construction continues to move quickly on HYLO Fitness Charlotte as the project enters one of the most exciting phases of the build-out. With an early October opening now in sight, the 7,400-square-foot transformation of the former Catawba Brewing space is beginning to shift from construction site to finished experience.

Since our last update, much of the work behind the walls is complete and attention is turning toward the details people will actually see and interact with. Interior doors and frames are being installed, painting has begun, and tile and flooring will follow in the coming weeks. HVAC and lighting installation are scheduled for mid-September, which will bring another major layer of the design to life.

Some of the more custom elements are taking shape as well. Shop drawings and fabrication are underway for the reception desk and exterior façade improvements - two important pieces of the project that help establish the HYLO experience from the moment someone approaches the building through check-in and into the studios.

This stage is especially rewarding on an adaptive reuse project. For months, much of the progress has been infrastructure, coordination, and solving the challenges that come with transforming an existing building. Now the material palette, lighting, millwork, and finishes we developed with the HYLO team are beginning to layer onto the original industrial character of the space.

With an early October opening targeted, we're getting close to seeing the full vision come together. What started as an empty brewery will soon have an entirely new life as HYLO's first Charlotte location - while retaining the exposed structure, volume, patio, and character that made the building worth preserving in the first place.

"He is rich who owns the day." - Ralph Waldo Emerson