Lighting in Design Q2 2022

the building with flexible and multifunctional spaces in mind, so it could be used both as an Art Gallery as well as a Conference Centre or Wedding Venue for up to 100 people. To this end a catering kitchen was incorporated in the layout, and storage rooms were designed as multi-use meeting/presentation rooms. Mechanical and electrical services are hidden within the building’s basement and routed invisibly up large cavity walls to the necessary rooms. Movable screens and partitions allow artwork to be moved and stored, either to make space for a large open space, or to compartmentalise smaller spaces. The pallet of materials is kept raw and honest, showcasing split face concrete blocks, and timber off-shutter concrete walls, with polished teak floors, skirtings, and architraves. Simple white painted gallery walls allow the interior to showcase the artwork to best effect. Dampening acoustic reverberation within the main hall was achieved through a custom designed ceiling, complete with softwood timber panels, hessian overlay and sound/heat absorbing

insulation above. Lead architect, Geoff Fox, notes that while there was no specific lighting brief for the project, the design brief centred around doing whatever necessary to be able to exhibit high value artwork in a climate controlled environment. “As architects, we suggested an emphasis on multi-functionality and adaptability to enhance the building’s use. For this reason, the main gallery space was to be lit with track lights, which, as much as possible, did not detract from the unique vaulted/arched ceiling and voluminous space, and which at the same time emphasised the ceiling at night with uplighting,” he says. Nulty – a UK-based lighting specialist – worked on the original concept design for the lighting, much of which was implemented by APS. Fox notes that the directional spots on the track lighting were chosen for flexibility and purpose lighting of artworks/sculptures. “The

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LiD Q2 - 2022