Our Design Philosophy

vision
Every environment has a personality. The collective body of persons who live, work, play, perform or worship in the environment have their own individual and corporate personalities. The built environment should function as a collaborative partner with the community it serves. There must not be a personality conflict between what the building wants to be and what the occupants want from the building.

As Theater Planners and Lighting Consultants, we imagine environments that serve the needs of the users. Human involvement and interaction is pre-eminent, and should occur without interference from distraction and obstacles. All of the physical, relational, emotional and spiritual senses of the human experience should be supported and allowed to thrive within the realm of structure.

practice
Imagining and envisioning supportive assembly and public spaces is a wonderful and essential element of design. The process must not stop there. Translating imagination and vision into practical, affordable and buildable structures is the next step. We see ourselves as practitioners of construction alchemy... transforming imagination into valuable environments.

pladesignsinc is committed to design of practical and creative illumination, technical and environmental systems, supportive of the human experience in assembly, worship, performance, themed and public spaces.

Key Personnel

K. Paul Luntsford, IES,LC
Paul is the President and Principal Consultant of PLA Designs. He has been a facilities design consultant since 1976, and holds an LC credential from the National Council for the Qualification of Lighting Professions. He is also a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the United States Institute for Theater Technology (USITT). He has written articles for national publications regarding the appropriate means for lighting houses of worship, and periodically participates in regional workshops, teaching theatrical design techniques. In addition, Paul holds a United States Letters Patent for the invention of a Surgical Lighting System. Paul's educational background is in Architecture and Construction Engineering. When he is not in the office, he enjoys time with his wife Penni, whether at the theatre or just at home with the grandchildren.
Gregory T. Long
Gregory joined PLA in 2001 as Project Management Director. He has over 25 years experience in the technical and managerial sides of the entertainment equipment and design industry. His experience includes design project management, construction project management, rigging systems design, motorization controls, dimming and control systems design and project cost estimating. Greg holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre (Technical emphasis with a minor in Computer Science) and serves as a volunteer technical theater instructor at a local high school. He is the proud father of two daughters. One an acting major at Southern Oregon University and the other just entering her freshman year and taking on the world!
Matthew R. James
Matt James serves as the Administration and Financial Director. Matt came to us from Denver, Colorado. Matt has a Bachelor of Music Performance in Classical Strings, with post-graduate work in Finance Administration. Although Matt is responsible for the financial operations of PLA Designs, he is also trained in CAD systems, Lightscape modeling and project management. Matt is our resident expert in design criteria for music performance spaces. Matt has successfully completed the IES ED50, ED100 and ED150 Lighting Principles and Practices courses and is a member of the IES Oregon Section. Matt spends a large amount of his free time performing in professional ensembles as a violinist and hiking the NW with his wife.