ENTRYWAY PANELESCENT

In the slides lecture Russel Wright held about the design of Dragon Rock, Wright spoke of his use of the novel Panelescent, a “phosphorous lighting material which gives a moon[lit] glow”, in the entryway stairwell of the House. 

Despite Wright’s enthusiasm for Panelescent, there is no photographic evidence that the electroluminescent display to which he alluded ever existed at Dragon Rock. Instead, the “Panelescent” structure at Dragon Rock is composed of string lights sandwiched between corrugated glass panels painted white on the interior. When turned on, the effect is a diffuse glow with concentrated star-like bursts of light, and when turned off, the cool white of the Panelescent at rest delineates a transitional screened vestibule for visitors coming in from the outdoors.  

In the time since Wright’s residence at Dragon Rock, the Panelescent had fallen into disuse; at the time of the 2026 restoration, chips and scratches in the paint job marred the even tone of the glass façade, and the lights had not been functional for years. 

Investigations of the Panelescent’s interiors revealed uncommonly delicate and ornate string lights, made in 1950s Italy, which were plugged in to a defunct electrical supply embedded in the supports of the baffles. Many of the lightbulbs, believed to be original to Wright’s time at Dragon Rock, had blown out, leaving smoke marks on the inside of the painted glass panels.  

Restoration priorities were as follows: 

• Investigate original assembly

• Eliminate smoke damage 

• Strip and reapply paint to Panelescent interiors 

• Restore lighting functionality to Panelescent consistent with the nature of the fixture during Russel Wright’s lifetime

The restoration, undertaken in June 2026, started with the complete disassembly of the Panelescent structure. As the Panelescent is made up of over 50 separate elements held together without screws or glue (the structure stays in place due to an ingeniously sturdy combination of notching, wedging, and leverage—only cosmetic surface elements have external fasteners), the disassembly process required the utmost precision and focus to safely extract each component part from the larger ecosystem. 

Between disassembly and reassembly, the restoration team constructed a temporary frame in place of the panels for safety and to maintain visual flow. The restoration team then stripped and reapplied the paint on all panels before moving on to reassembly.

During reassembly, the team used the temporary frame as a foundation atop which the panels were notched and stacked back into place. The far-side glass panels were stacked up first, leaving the Panelesecent half-open and allowing the restoration team to restring the lights throughout the interiors in keeping with the original diamond-like configuration (see above). The original lightbulbs were incandescent—standard for the time, but energy ineffecient and dangerous. As such, Manitoga’s restoration team restrung the interiors with a 150-foot length of modern LED string lights wired into an external electrical supply in the interest of maximizing longevity and safety. After the lights were securely strung and all sixteen glass panels were aligned in their original positions, it was safe to reintroduce the Panelescent’s cornerstone log and deconstruct the temporary frame. 

The restoration of the long-dormant Panelescent has breathed new life into Dragon Rock’s entry vestibule. Once more fully functional, the lighting feature honors both the effect of the original fixture and Wright’s vision of his home bathed in a cool-toned, otherworldly glow.  

PROJECT TEAM
Site Preparation / Contractor – Lars Lindbergh + Edison Seasalema, Tiny Houses, Inc.
Research / Preparation / Glass refurbishment – Manitoga Operations Manager Lori Merhige
Project Management – Allison Cross, Executive Director

PROJECT SUPPORT
Lead funding for the project has been provided by the David L. Klein Jr. Foundation and Frank B. R. Sahm Jr. Charitable Foundation. A major gift by Manitoga Board President Tom Krizmanic in 2020 established a Buildings Endowment for the long term stewardship of Manitoga’s National Landmark House and Studio.