Organic Lighting’s OrgaRail® illuminated handrail system plays a key role in guiding passengers through the new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station, a major new public transport gateway just east of Los Angeles International Airport. The project shows how handrail lighting can support the architecture and make complex movement feel clear and intuitive rather than simply satisfy safety and building code requirements.
Designed by Grimshaw with Gruen Associates and Arup, the station is a venue that brings together light rail, buses, shuttles, bikes, and pick-up/drop-off locations across a 9.5-acre site. Long concourses, platforms, and walkways are organized over two main levels so people can move easily and comfortably between different modes of transport. The overall aim is simple: make it easier to reach LAX without relying only on private cars, taxis, or rideshares.
Meet our illuminated handrail at LAX Metro Hub
At LAX/Metro Transit Center Station, OrgaRail® illuminated handrails run along main passenger routes, putting light at hand level to guide people and improve safety. Instead of relying solely on tall poles or overhead fixtures, the illuminated handrails trace routes, mark changes in level, and reinforce the architectural lines of the canopies and concourses. By night, the continuous bands of low-glare light help travelers read the station layout and feel more secure without overwhelming them with unwanted glare and creating visually comfortable space.
OrgaRail also delivers practical benefits that matter on a large, high-traffic site. The system is designed to be straightforward to install and to maintain over time, with modular components that can be accessed and serviced without dismantling long runs of railing. Durable construction and weather-resistant materials suit exposed platforms and open-air concourses, while long-life, energy-efficient IP67 OrgaLED flexible lighting strips fitted within the OrgaRail® system are helping to reduce operating costs further. For the client and design team, this combination of visual clarity, safety, and practicality made OrgaRail® a natural fit for a transit project operating around the clock.
At ground level, these qualities support the wider architectural intent. Bus bays are framed by a landscaped public plaza that threads between canopy columns, turning areas of vast pedestrian movement into a series of organized outdoor enclosed ‘rooms’. Here, OrgaRail® reinforces edges and paths, tying the lighting language of the plaza back to the upper concourses and platforms. The result is a coherent nighttime environment in which architecture and lighting work together, with OrgaRail woven in to enhance this new amazing space.
