Sparks Electrical News May 2019

LIGHTING

22

LIGHTING CREATES A VISUAL IMPACT AT SANDTON OFFICE AND RETAIL COMPLEX

J ohannesburg’s brand new retail and office complex, the MARC, named for its location in the heart of South Africa’s financial dis- trict, is on Maude and Rivonia Corner in Sandton. The project’s ar- chitects, Boogertman + Partners, wanted to build a facility that reflected the area’s fashionable, modern and energetic atmosphere. Developed by Eris Property Group, the former ‘Village Walk’ is now a mixed-use development that comprises two office towers, a two-level re- tail centre with everything from fashion outlets to eateries, gym to medi- cal suites. The office buildings create visual impact on a busy intersection while allowing for physical and visual connections to the retail and po- dium components using an urban staircase and on grade access points. Developing a lighting scheme Creating a lighting design for a project that encompasses three sepa-

level out of very small profiles. As RLS’s lights are efficient, they had to, in certain areas such as the restaurants and entertainment areas, dim the lights as they were too bright. “Looking back, from all accounts everyone is happy,” note the de- signers from RLS, “Despite incredibly short timelines and a complicated manufacturing process, the end result speaks for itself.” Feature lighting RLS was asked to create a suspended fitting with a bi-directional light source that would create an attractive feature on the ceiling and provide the required functional light output on the floor. The fitting is cylindrical and suspended at three points and the inter- nal wall of the cylinder had to be gold in colour. “This was a truly unique fitting, locally designed and custom manufactured specifically for the client’s requirements,” says Byron Lottering, mar- keting coordinator at RLS.

rate buildings, fell to Regent Lighting Solutions (RLS). RLS does a signifi- cant amount of work with Claasen Auret and Boogertman + Partners, and was approached when it came to the specialised lighting required for the project. The project wasn’t conventionally lit because much of the lighting supplied was in the form of a linear fitting – kilometres of it – going around corners, fitting into narrow gaps, running all the way down offices. RLS also provided linear façade lighting in the recessed balconies. One demanding challenge was designing fittings to go into slatted aluminium which had already been specified. “In cases like this, it would have been beneficial for all parties to meet at the start of the project and consider the design together, but since we are a local manu- facturer, we were able to make it work,” believe RLS. Another challenge for RLS was meeting fairly complicated lighting requirements within a short timeline, as well as providing the correct lux

As the MARC has multiple entrances and stair- ways, a special request was made for a linear light source that mimicked the right angles of the stair- ways, and portrayed a sense of direction, thus the Linear Inca was supplied. The upper level stairway and escalator landings are supplied with custom Jura 1002 24 W 36°, track mounted in a recessed cavity in the ceiling, while the lower level and base- ment parking landings feature Nexio recessed downlights at 24 W with a 50° beam. Within the main shopping mall, stairways between various lev- els feature recessed Floren 30 W fittings. Here the architect wanted to use a different profile; the Inca has a recessed diffuser – offering lower glare – and its click-in systemmakes it easy to work with. The retail space itself, where RLS worked closely with Pamboukian lightdesign, provides shoppers who live and work in the nearby Sandton area with convenient shopping, restaurants and a gym. The entrances to the mall are lined with the Argo post top from RLS, leading from the street towards the entrance overhang. The overhang is highlighted by suspended Aldos up to 4.2 m with an ‘up and down’ light source. “The project also has a glass roof with sup- port beams that required a high output fitting that would blend seamlessly into the design,” says Lottering. To meet this requirement, the Floren 30 W 1500 lm was supplied. It is also recessed into wooden slatted ceilings throughout. Elsewhere, recessed into the ceiling edges above the interior passage and walkways is an adapted black 24 W Jura 1002 track light. Linear mini fittings in RGB create ambiance in the restroom passages within the mall, while the parking and basement levels are lined with Shuttle wall mounted fittings. Externally, the landscape surrounding the pre- cinct features numerous fittings in different ap- plications, including the Shuttle trunion mounted 18 W fitting on an 11 m pole, as well as in all plant- ers throughout the building. Miso recessed wall lights provide low level lighting on the stairways and low level boundary walls, whilst the 16 W Mal- ta Bollard plinth mounted at a height of 700 mm in all planter and lawn terraces provides pathway lighting. “For key amenity lighting throughout all landscape areas at the MARC, we used the Argo Post top 54 W,” concludes Lottering.

Enquiries: www.regentlight.co.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

MAY 2019