Architectural lighting design

Pioneering for its time, the 200 year old building has the longest-single-span timber-frame in the country. As part of the renovations, the timber soffit and recreated timber panelling have been celebrated with warm grazing light. New foyer and bar spaces have been created by infilling a courtyard, and these spaces have been dramatically lit, showcasing the once external brickwork of the historical buildings. Roof lighting as part of this new insertion brings natural light to the heart of the building, and the giant windows to the west of the corn exchange were restored to provide borrowed light to the theatre itself, recreating the ambience of the original 1806 riding house. Externally, existing historical street lights adjacent to Pavilion Gardens have been refurbished and installed with new light sources. New functional and discrete lighting has been provided to light the external spaces around the building.

The restoration of the Grade I-listed Rochdale Town Hall is a heritage-led regeneration project that imbues pride and ownership in the local community. Lighting was a key part of this restoration project with a large proportion of the fittings recovered from the building. The beautiful Great Hall pendants were fully restored and rehung from the hands of the angels (the original location of the first gas lamps). The fittings in the newly glazed porte-cochère and clock tower entrance were sourced from an architectural salvage organisation and restored. We converted the pendant lights to dimmable LED, with the same warm colour temperature to suit a building of this age and reflect the restored stained glass more effectively. The lighting system now has more control. A switch at the door allows all fittings to be switched off by the last person out, so no lights are left on. Side corridors, bathrooms and offices are provided with occupancy detection so they automatically switch off when not in use. The Great Hall, Bright Hall and the Exchange all have special lighting control with scene-setting for the variety of events that will take place in these areas.

We designed the lighting on this RIBA Stirling Prize-winning new library to minimise energy use and provide emphasis and focus on the bookshelves and working plane. We chose pendants to provide a decorative feature that catch the sunlight as well as offering a source of directed light. External lighting was kept to a functional minimum; lighting just the path, entrance and the façade along the terrace to aid orientation and navigation while allowing the new building interior to remain the centre of attention. The façade uplighting is to be switched off after curfew to minimise light pollution.

Our overarching ambition in re-lighting Fairfield Halls was to restore the original character of the venue but use the latest technologies to minimise energy costs and increase flexibility and control. We created bespoke lighting fixtures, both by refurbishing and adapting what was already on site and by designing new lights based on old photographs and archive evidence. Fortunately, a long-term partner in lighting, Dernier & Hamlyn, was based locally and developed the design and manufacture of the fittings. The team’s extensive knowledge about the heritage of lighting helped ensure the new scheme met all our aspirations. The bespoke main foyer lighting reflects the building’s original ceiling design and creates a clean and inviting arrival spaces, natural daylight creates a light and airy feel to the front of house spaces, while the original 1960s heritage chandeliers have been refurbished with high-efficiency LED light sources and dimming control. 

The lighting design gives more presence to the entrances, introduces daylight into the galleries, and addresses the problem of ‘gallery fatigue’ to create a flexible, characterful, energy-efficient and healthy installation across the site.

Our gallery lighting design at the Hayward Gallery comprised three main components - the provision and control of daylight by the architecture, a system of digitally controlled blinds, and the internal electric lights. The existing iconic rooflight pyramids were removed and replaced with a new design incorporating a mixture of clear and translucent glass, to form a shading pattern, blocking direct sunlight from landing on the artworks while maximising daylight. The result is a more stable environmental condition, and a 42% reduction in electricity use.