3 minute read
Ribbons of Light
Susan Lake Lighting Design has created a stylish people-centric office in the Walkie Talkie building in the City of London. Ray Molony reports.
Lighting designer Susan Lake was challenged to create a stylish people-centric space for underwriting firm the Lancashire Group at its offices in the City of London.
The company is located on Levels 28 and 29 of 20 Fenchurch Street, the co-called ‘Walkie Talkie’ building designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly.
Working with interior designers MCM, she has created a bold and fun scheme for the space, which is punctuated by a sculptural staircase connecting the two levels.
Complementing the ribbon staircase, the main light feature is designed to give the appearance of handwritten drawing that wraps around the perimeter of the space without obstructing the view of the City below.
Wrapping the light around the perimeter, together with the central, suspended halo above the reception desk, creates not only a focal point within the space, but also, when viewed from outside the building, an eye-catching feature that avoids external light spill.
Overall, the aim of the lighting plan was to complement the design concept of providing engaging, adaptable spaces.
A rhythm of light along the circulation spaces leads to the informal booth meeting spaces, where a welcoming, focused light is achieved by adding a low-level glow in the booth seating, and washing the wall behind with indirect lighting to bring light levels down to a human scale.
Multi-functional track downlighting in the main social reception space allows for flexible lighting configurations that enable the client to utilise the space for different purposes.
While Lake’s aim was to create a bold, dynamic, and fun environment, it was also to minimise the lighting’s carbon footprint by ensuring lighting levels are no greater than necessary to balance with the natural daylight within the spaces, the control system adjusting the lighting to compensate for the amount of ambient light available.
And rather than lighting all areas uniformly, the lighting scheme focuses light only into areas that require it, while the perimeter is devoid of lights other than the feature lighting, not only to give the feature prominence, but also to reduce light spill outside the building. As a result, the average lighting power consumption is 8W per square metre.
In addition to making prudent use of lighting within the scheme itself, Lake adopted a circular economy approach in the specification, selecting products designed to be repaired, refurbished, reused, and disassembled.
