Lighting in Design Q3 2019

light other sections, de Villiers notes there was no specific call for such a feature. “But, we came up with the concept for the lighting as a means to create a striking effect without adding too much cost using backlit polycarbon- ate sheeting. Internally, we specified hanging LED lights arranged at different angles, which repeat the angles used in the stepped sheeting (cladding) on the façade. Up-down wall lights on the exterior also highlight the splashes of yellow paint, a nod to SAFT’s logo and corporate identity,” he says. The play of light is a highlight of the structure – be it sunlight during the day or the LED lighting at night – the fact that the sheeting is articulated by means of stepped sheeting in two different colours (light grey and dark grey) means that the sunlight plays on the façade during the day and is up lit at night with powerful LED strip light- ing washes to accentuate the lighter grey recessed sheeting. Elsewhere, a canopy over the row of loading bays with a polycarbonate fascia along the front, is also backlit. “The challenge with lighting, and particularly façade lighting, is to achieve the correct lux levels to enhance the features of a building, and not to over- light,” says Bright. “Any structure can be lit up, the important role we have as designers is to ensure that we do this either by using light as the feature (such as lines of light on the façade) or by highlighting certain elements of a building. At SAFT it was important to conceal the façade lighting and rather to highlight the articulation of the façade.”

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LiD Q3 - 2019