dbell

Self Portrait, UK

High-end fashion label Self-Portrait has recently opened its new, flagship store in London’s Mayfair. To create this space, the brand turned to Casper Mueller Kneer Architects, a firm renowned for its work for arts and fashion clients, such as White Cube Gallery, Barbican Art Centre, and collaborations with fashion house Céline.

As the first stand-alone store for Self-Portrait, the design concept, which features a lighting scheme from Lichtvision Design, will set the standard for further stores to follow.

Set over ground and lower ground floors, the 233sqm store offers a sequence of spaces that flow into each other, creating zones with distinct spatial and material qualities.

Three design elements characterise the space – the custom-designed terrazzo flooring with pink and white marble insets, the open grid ceiling that creates a continuous ‘luminous horizon’, and the dark and heavy Cornish mineral clay render, applied to all wall and ceiling surfaces.

Simple geometric forms structure the space: at ground level, two semi-circular metal screens with coloured aluminium inlays provide the hanging rails, as well as visual shelter, while at the lower floor, the main space is triangle shaped. Smaller ante-rooms with deliberately odd geometries are located off these main spaces, while two staircases allow a playful loop of discovery.

Lichtvision was asked to support the architects with the lighting design, having worked with its London office on a number of other projects in the past. Karen Ihlau, Design Director at Lichtvision, told us more: “Our support for them has ranged from basic lighting advice such as technical product advice to full design services where we also contribute on concept finding, visual perception, lighting submission packages and on-site support.

“For Self-Portrait, we worked closely with the architects from concept through to site commissioning. We also did a full-size mock-up on site so that the client could sign off and visualise the end result.”

Echoing the minimalist design of the store, Lichtvision created a very minimal lighting scheme, as Ihlau explained: “The architects only use a small number of materials for each project; it is a very reduced palette that is carefully selected and often used in its original state or finish. I call this a very honest approach.

“We reacted to this minimalism with another minimalistic, almost abstract lighting design. The intent was to blend the lighting into the surfaces, but at the same time to ensure that the product presentation is good.”

To create the ‘luminous horizon’ in the ceiling, sought after by the architects, the lighting designers used Flashaar’s NauticProfile system, suspending linear luminaires behind the open grid ceiling. “With this honest architectural approach and a complete open grid ceiling, we knew everything behind the ceiling grid would be on show,” Ihlau said.

“For the linear system, we found a product that would look continuous and have small dimensions, had the right technical abilities for the retail space, could be suspended, but could also reduce the amount of cabling running behind the open ceiling.

“In order to visually blend into the ceiling, we modelled and mocked-up the best location. In the final solution we placed the fittings at a small distance above the cassettes directly shining down, but also always directly above the ceiling structure. By placing the fittings above every second cassette, the lighting gets distributed more evenly along every cassette.”

Additional direct spotlights – in this case Steng’s Bell Pro, with Xicato engine – enhance materials and sculptural interior design, as well as the products.

This ‘luminous horizon’ effect was created on both the ground and lower ground floors, in spite of the different ceiling heights – something that caused some concerns for Lichtvision. “The basement height was very low and different to the ground floor, although using the same ceiling and layout. We were able to ensure that the solution could be the same on both floors and visually very similar,” explained Ihlau. “Several beams run across the space on the ground floor, and the reflected light picks up differently on these. However, the eye still puts everything together as one luminous ceiling.”

Lichtvision also convinced the architects to include localised lighting underneath the shelves, inside the clothes rails on the lower ground floor, and to increase the designated spots on rods above the curved metal screen and clothes rails. This was achieved through the use of LED Flex’s Ecoflex 120 fixtures. “This was important to us for product presentation, but also for the ability to adjust the atmosphere in the spaces by dimming those layers of light differently,” Ihlau explained.

The curved, semi-circular metal screens, through their open design, create a playful shadow and light effect from the directional light from the ceiling. The rhythm of spacious atmosphere and the surprising element of light and shadow effects structure the customer experience, while the integrated linear shelf lights support the product presentation in a discrete and subtle approach.

The curved screens bring a sense of structure to the space, creating two distinct rooms without enclosing either completely, but they also double up as display structures and background. Visitors perceive two different colours when they move around them, an effect that has to do with the rotation of their elements.

Because of the brief, Lichtvision sought to retain a very clean, minimal approach to the lighting design, meaning that no decorative elements were considered. Instead, the lighting complements the sleek, sparse layout of the store, something that Ihlau feels adds to the appeal of the store.

“We complemented the minimalistic architecture with a minimalistic lighting scheme. There is power and beauty in contrast as it appeals to the eye,” she said. “The contrast in this project is given by the tension between the rough and minimalistic space that sells fresh, feminine, sometimes floral and sometimes light dresses and other ranges of female clothing.

“The lighting adds to the abstract perception of the space and its architecture. It’s simple, and contributes to the clear identity asked for by the client.”

www.lichtvision.com

by dbell

Samsung KX, UK

Designed by Heatherwick Studios, Coal Drops Yard is an architectural marvel. Adjacent to London’s King’s Cross Station, the chic, high-end retail space is dominated by two curved, ‘kissing’ rooftops, making it instantly recognisable as one of the city’s newest landmarks.

Situated underneath these swooping rooftops is Samsung KX, a new ‘retail and experience space’. Working alongside project managers Portview, architects KSS and interior designers Brinkworth, Nulty was brought onto the project to complete the lighting design and to find an impactful way to illuminate Heatherwick’s remarkable architecture.

“Our brief was to create a rational lighting solution for the space,” explained Anna Sandgren, Associate Lighting Designer at Nulty. “We were working with a clear architectural blueprint when it came to Coal Drops Yard’s curved rooftops, so our lighting scheme had to work sympathetically with the building. Architecture always took priority.”

As such, Nulty created an all-LED lighting scheme that was befitting of its architectural backdrop, enhancing the iconic appearance of the near-identical gabled roofs - an element that had to be factored into the lighting design too. “Everything about the final scheme needed to be symmetrical to ensure that the lighting design is consistent throughout both linear structures,” Sandgren added. “The fixed parameters of the space are what made this such a unique project.”

Inside, the complexity of the infrastructure of the building, and the changing functionality of the Samsung KX space, required the team to create a day-to-night lighting scheme that is constantly visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and can be modified depending on how the experience-led space is used.

“Our role was to master the technical challenges that the building presented and ensure that this didn’t impact on our ability to deliver the quality of light throughout that the client needed,” continued Sandgren. “We were always respectful of the building, so the success of the project lay in creating a lighting solution that could work harmoniously within it.”

A key facet in this lighting solution is a continuous ribbon of light that soars throughout the east and west retail showcases, unifying the two sections of the building. Created by The Light Lab, the circular swoop of light travels up through the floor, walls and ceiling to form a central architectural feature for Samsung KX, designed to host masterclasses, workshops and talks. Visible from every aspect of Coal Drops Yard, the ribbon of light mirrors the curves of Heatherwick’s original design, while enveloping the space in a layering blanket of light.

“A number of the manufacturers that we approached said that it couldn’t be done because of the sheer scope of the space that we were dealing with,” said Sandgren. “Thankfully, The Light Lab had the vision to understand what we needed.”

The bespoke fixture provides the majority of the illumination in the main area of the space, alongside Targetti’s surface-mounted Zeno spotlights. Positioned across the ceiling in a concentric circular formation, the tunable white spotlights work with the curved contours of the building, and can be adjusted from cool white through to warm white to create different moods.

Speaking of the lighting in the main space, Sandgren said: “We were confident that the ribbon of light would provide the right level of illumination throughout. It brings symmetry and balance to the space.

“Beyond this, we needed to think technically about how to create different lighting moods, because the functionality of the space changes almost daily. This is why our lighting scheme is flexible at a lower level. 

“The entire space is controlled by a DALI system, which has the capacity to be totally transformative. Every one of the LED lights that you see in the space is individually addressable and can be adjusted according to how Samsung KX is being used.”

By creating this flexible, tunable lighting system, Nulty were able to achieve the client’s desired cool white light - something fundamental to the Samsung brand and how they display their products, Sandgren explained - while making it work within a space dominated by a warm timber aesthetic.

While the light ribbon and its complementary spotlights provide the right level of illumination in the main body of the space, other areas required different solutions. For instance, in the kitchen/entrance area of the space, LED Flex’s Lumen Line linear fixtures interplay with a wooden slatted ceiling, while the manufacturer’s Eco Flex fittings provide linear lighting behind the banquettes in the showcase east and customer service area, creating a gentle, diffuse illumination to offset the primary lighting feature.

However, the instantly recognisable ‘kissing rooftops’ required special consideration, as Sandgren explained: “The kissing rooftops were undoubtedly our biggest architectural consideration. It was where all of the design decisions began and ended.

“The area under the kissing rooftops was the one area of Samsung KX where we couldn’t have too much light, so we had to work out how to achieve consistent levels of illumination throughout the east and west showcase, without allowing the quality of light to drop across the building.

“Our response was to frame each of the east and west showcases with surface mounted LED spotlights, but then let the light levels naturally drop away where the rooftops meet. By doing this, we have created a pocket of calmness at the kissing point, but also preserved a layering blanket of light throughout.”

By letting the light drop away towards the kissing rooftops, it also reduced any potential impact of light spill onto the Coal Drops Yard exterior – something that had to be taken into consideration, on account of the vast windows in the space. “Coal Drops Yard is dominated by floor to ceiling windows, so we had to appraise every decision to ensure that the lighting scheme looks great from every angle,” Sandgren elucidated.

“We also had to work out how to avoid unnecessary light spill. Testing each and every fixture on site and reviewing how they read from the exterior of the building was how we made all of this work.”

Indeed from the reduction in light spill, to the flexible, tunable lighting system, Sandgren believes that the scheme that Nulty has created works in harmony with the overall architectural design of the space. “The architect’s vision for Samsung KX was in place right from the beginning so we worked within the parameters of what was set,” she said.

“Our team worked hard to make sure that the overall lighting scheme pays homage to Heatherwick Studio’s design legacy, and that every part of our final solution contributes to preserving the building from every angle.”

The end result is a lighting scheme that serves to complement and highlight the unique architecture of the space – an important aspect that Sandgren was keen to implement in the lighting design.

“We strongly believe that a great lighting scheme isn’t always what you can see – the role of lighting is to enhance a space and give it depth,” she enthused. “And lighting shouldn’t distract from the architecture that surrounds it.

“Samsung KX is a great example of this. Lighting is deliberately restrained to bring the space to life, but it is respectful of where it sits. Everything that we’ve done to illuminate it has been about celebrating important architectural details, but also about creating a calm and welcoming environment throughout.”

Although Nulty as a studio, and Sandgren personally, have a great deal of experience in creating lighting schemes for retail environments, the opportunity to design the lighting for such a remarkable site meant that this remained a unique project.

“How often do you get asked to create a lighting scheme for a project of this scale? And how often do you have to create a workable solution for two gabled rooftops?” asked Sandgren.

“Everything about this project was unique – especially the building itself. Heritage, an architectural legacy, structural challenges, an innovative retail concept; this project had it all.”

www.nultylighting.co.uk

by dbell

Unifree Duty Free, Istanbul Airport, Turkey

Istanbul Airport, located in the heart of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, is shaping up to be the world’s highest capacity airport. Overall, it has the potential of welcoming up to 200 million passengers yearly by 2023, travelling to 300 different destinations. 

The first phase was completed and opened in October 2018, and hopes to welcome 90 million passengers annually. This presents a huge retail opportunity, not missed by Tabanlıoğlu architects, which has drawn on the architecture of Istanbul as inspiration for the 26 Unifree duty-free shops with twelve different concept designs. These various cultural concepts and symbols include the Bosphorous, Grand Bazaar, and the famous Judas trees that populate the city, whose pink blossoms line the city streets from spring. 

This architecturally-inspired design was curated in conjunction with ZKLD studio, responsible for the lighting design, and therefore responsible for drawing attention to these features. Speaking to arc, Mustafa Akkaya, Design Director and Senior Lighting Designer at ZKLD, said: “The architectural team had an idea map in the context of the concept, inspired by the dynamic structure of the Bosphorus. The client gave feedback about the lighting levels that would be eye-catching, drawing from their previous experience.” These directed lights were used to foster a sense of luxury, eye-catching design and visual comfort, as well as draw further attention to other design aspects, such as the abstract tree structures littered through the circulation areas. 

“Architectural forms and elements are based on the abstraction of the concept of Istanbul, and in this context, the forms of all lighting instruments in which we take part in the design represent different elements that will complete this scene of Istanbul,” Akkaya continued. For the abstract tree structures, a linear LED line with an opal cover had been custom-made to suit these focal points. During this design process, special products such as telescopic rail spot arms and mounting brackets were also developed.

Fundamentally, the goal of the lighting design was to create an attractive atmosphere through the emphasis of architectural details and the duty-free stores. This would be aided through DMX controlled RGBW and 3000K linear LED fixtures from Osram and Arlight, alongside various façade lightings. 

Interior areas were divided through general and focal areas: Unifree requested a standard 1/5 ratio for illuminance levels, in order to create a visual contrast and attract attention to the desired places. For this reason, the vertical illumination of gondolas is set  to 1500 lux on average, whilst in general spaces, such as circulation areas, this is reduced to around 300 lux. In order to keep things comfortable and eye-catching, ZKLD developed product-oriented lighting solutions, and used the same warm white light temperature to gather all areas under one roof and create an overall sense of synergy and unity of design within the duty-free stores. This also allowed for ZKLD to counter aspect the clinical and homogenous nature of airport spaces. Akkaya continued: “Our aim was to bring forward the stores with warmer colours of light on the products in this overall white airport volume.” For general lighting, a homogeneous light distribution was used; this included custom-made 3000K suspended lighting fixtures with line textured opal diffusers, courtesy of TLTpanel. These were designed and used in almost every store at cashier points.

The whole project required a rapid flow of action, which required a great deal of co-operation and communication. Akkaya described his experience of the process: “Throughout the process, conceptual ideas have changed slightly during the construction phase. By keeping interdisciplinary communication constantly active, the variables were quickly adapted… At the point of solution, it required a product-oriented lighting scheme for the illumination of all these organic-form architectural elements.”

Throughout the project, ZKLD took part in the designs, brainstorms and the mock-ups, maintaining a high level of participation and exchange of ideas. For example, flexible light directions were implemented to accommodate for the potential last minute changes in furnishings, whilst a shadow-free display area had also been supplied with Zumtobel’s Onico adjustable track spots at a twelve-degree beam angle.

Besides its ambition to become the highest capacity airport, Istanbul Airport’s architecture aims to make a name for itself. For the duty-free shops of the airport, they remain the most common but arguably also the most attractive areas of the project. ZKLD kept the centrality of retail in mind from the outset, using light design to outline and accentuate these areas. Akkaya said, in closing: “It is a great pleasure to see that the targeted fiction has been realised after the completion of all the processes of the project. Of course, in the construction of such large-scale projects, there will be factors that will affect the outcome, but each step followed one by one has allowed us to minimise this.” With the help of lighting design that highlights the architecture, bold and eye-catching ambiances have been created for the passengers of a new world transport hub.

www.zkldstudio.com

by dbell

K11 Musea, Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside is a vibrant new art and design district that knits hotel, office and cultural components with outdoor public gardens, reactivating the waterfront public realms. Designed by KPF Architects, the architectural diversity of the site emulates its varied elements, while the use of stone, glass and metal finishes provides a rich materiality.

Sitting in the middle of this development is the K11 Musea, a new 1.2 million square foot development envisioned by businessman Adrian Cheng. Home to cutting edge retail, world-class contemporary art, culture and gastronomy, the Musea is intended to completely reshape the retail experience for the consumer.

As a key member of the creative team behind the project, Speirs + Major worked to design the light for all of the interior and exterior public spaces in the project. Keith Bradshaw, Principal at Speirs + Major, explained how the firm got involved in the project: “We were already working on the site of the development on both the Avenue of Stars and Salisbury Gardens. We met with the client, and he felt that our depth and breadth of experience was right. 

“He could also see how we could help to knit the development into its context, in the sense that the interiors would become an extension of our work on the external areas.”

Cheng’s vision for the project, Bradshaw explained, was to assemble a team of ‘100 Creative Powers’ who would shape the design and experience of the project, led by himself in a curatorial role. He provided Speirs + Major not with a traditional brief, but instead “an expression of the character, atmosphere and experience he wanted to create”.

“The brief called for an atmosphere that would not normally be associated with a shopping mall,” Bradshaw explained. “‘Bespoke’, ‘Welcoming’, ‘Crafted’, and ‘Contrast’, were all keywords. Our client envisioned K11 Musea as a creative environment with an independent and memorable atmosphere – a place where people would feel relaxed yet inspired. Our job was to deliver that across a vast, complicated and hugely varied series of spaces.”

Bradshaw and the Speirs + Major team quickly understood the importance that lighting would play in bringing together the various elements of the vast project, to create a sense of cohesion across the spaces. “I think we were the only members of the design team that contributed to the design of every part of the Musea, so in that sense light is the common thread that stitches all the elements together,” he said.

However, the need to create something ‘bespoke’ and ‘crafted’, while shaping an ‘independent and memorable atmosphere’ in the context of a busy retail/cultural hybrid environment made this particular project completely different to other retail scenarios that Speirs + Major has worked on. Bradshaw continued: “We had to break away from all pre-conceptions of retail lighting. 

“The challenge was complex: we needed to find the right compositional balance so that the light would connect the spaces together; highlight the key architectural features, art pieces and cultural insertions; deliver for the retailers; and all the while keep the atmosphere we were trying to create at the front of our minds.”

To do this, Bradshaw developed a lighting concept based on the notion of a bespoke collection of luminous objects. The lighting details in each space are distinct, but the deliberate coherence in design language and materials across the collection works to bind them together as a whole, delivering a sense of cohesion while retaining the flexibility to address the individual, idiosyncratic spaces and shape the character of the development.

Details are carefully integrated and arranged to create a sense of energy and dynamism, yet balanced to avoid detracting from the retail shop fronts or overwhelming the art pieces.

Recurring ‘crystal ball’ luminaires are placed in various configurations throughout the space, appearing in their most dense clusters nearest the atrium. Although seemingly bespoke-made, these fittings are more of a customisation than a fully bespoke product, comprising downlights fitted with a crystal cover, which made them simpler to source and install.

Bradshaw explained the inspiration behind these fixtures: “We were considering the idea of a motif that could further act as a source of visual connection. The ‘crystal ball’ concept delivered on a number of levels.

“The glow and sparkle of the cut crystal offered the ‘crafted’ feel that we wanted, and we could create a sense of dynamic energy and movement that would draw the eye vertically by arranging and clustering them in certain ways.

“We were also able to influence the ceiling design to support our concept – the pattern of curved wooden channels that support the crystal balls were created as an extension of the lighting concept.”

Because of the sheer scale of the project, a large number of interior architects were involved, each working on different spaces within the project. For each space, Speirs + Major worked closely with each of them to ensure that the materials and textures they had chosen were well expressed, and that light was properly integrated.

“Throughout the project, we were careful to ensure that the quality of the light remained a consistent and common factor across all of the varied spaces,” Bradshaw explained. “Our luminous objects are designed to be recognisable as a collection despite their varying sizes, scale and arrangement. Each individual piece responds to its setting, with details that contribute a decorative element as well as a soft, flattering light to visitors.

“We also played with extremes of scale, exaggerating these with lit highlights to create a sense of spectacle, and balancing them with relatable human-scale details.”

Such an approach is evident in the ‘Opera Theatre’, where a spectacular five-storey-high glazed, illuminated ‘Gold Ball’ dominates the void, while the miniature cut crystal balls cluster at the edges of the atrium ‘galaxy’, suspended from the ceilings and recessed into the floor.

The main structure of the ‘Gold Ball’ incorporates Stoane Lighting’s Iris, alongside Linea Light Group’s Iris 67-3 projectors, which illuminate the feature structure.

“The ‘Gold Ball’ was designed by us as a singular luminous object,” said Bradshaw. “As such, we integrated the light within the frame of the structure to highlight the cut crystal patterns.

“We designed it to be deliberately majestic in scale, but also to exude warmth. It is balanced by the crystal balls, which provide a more relatable human scale.”

Above the huge ‘Gold Ball’, Radiant Lighting’s 3D LED Flex 40 fixtures are located within the skylights, adding additional downlighting to the structure.

Elsewhere, cultural insertions including art installations, pop-up stores and artisanal displays are located along the concourses and dotted throughout the entire Musea. Speirs + Major approached the lighting for these ever-changing elements in the same way that they would an art gallery, providing a lower than usual level of general light, allowing for contrasting highlights, adding the flexibility to change sources, texture and focus through track lighting.

These showcases are illuminated via a range of methods, from Delta Light’s SuperLoop and Midispy in the Beautilicious area and Lumenpulse’s Lumenfacade Interior at the Rain Forest showcase in the Maison of Fashion area, to Rosco’s Litepad HO90, located in the lift lobby showcase.

Throughout the Musea a number of green walls and columns bring a feeling of nature and the outdoors inside, alongside various plant displays. Stoane Lighting’s Baldican XIM Wallwash, the X-LED Mesh from Carl Stahl, and Luci Lighting’s Power Flex Indoor highlight these green walls, while plant displays in the Beautilicious area are illuminated by LightGraphix’s LD51. 

Away from the main spaces, people can find a variety of eccentric, independent atmospheres to enjoy. Bradshaw continued: “Our client wanted the traditionally back of house areas to act as places of comfort and respite, so the light for each of the eleven lift lobbies and seven toilets is carefully and elegantly integrated, to accent their characteristic surfaces and materials. Lanterns and vertical light structures provide points of focus.”

Capping off the development is the Bohemian Garden, found on the roofscape. Visitors access this garden via an escalator that ascends through a cage of layered metal and suspended crystal lanterns, emerging into a serene, delicately lit garden. After dark, the curvaceous features - vertical greenery, cascading water, esoteric play structures and modular canopies - are softly highlighted. When required for events, the central lawn may also be dynamically lit from discreet lighting rigs.

Despite the vast size of the project, and the almost bespoke feel of the lighting solution, Bradshaw revealed that the lighting elements used to create the scheme were surprisingly straightforward. “Although there are a select number of bespoke details and customisations, the bulk of the scheme is built on core lighting techniques such as concealed slots, coves and downlights. Even the luminaires that appear bespoke are often standard products that have been cleverly applied or adapted.”

The lighting scheme created by Bradshaw and the Speirs + Major team adds to the luxurious, glamorous nature of the K11 Musea, helping to create a lasting impression on visitors, as Bradshaw concluded: “We are exceptionally pleased by the way in which the lighting delivers on the brief. As a hub of what is essentially a brand new district in Hong Kong, the lighting has provided K11 Musea with a very distinct and memorable character that is proving very popular.

“Lighting works to bind the various eclectic spaces together and highlight the cultural insertions so they can be readily enjoyed, while also delivering functionality.

“And, while it is undoubtedly photogenic, we find the experience of the spaces to be just as good in reality as it appears on screen.”

www.speirsandmajor.com

by dbell

Country Road, Australia

In August this year, Country Road, an Australian-based lifestyle fashion retailer, launched Australia’s first fashion store to be awarded the 5-Star, Green Star Design Review Rating. 

The lifestyle brand’s flagship store in the Chadstone Shopping Centre represents the most sustainable, ethical and innovative material. Symbolising a new era of luxury, the store was designed to enhance the customer experience at every touch point, while revitalising old materials into beautiful new store features. The result is fixtures made from recycled yoghurt containers, carpet crafted from fishing nets and recycled paper wall cladding. 

Along with interior architects, HMKM London, Ambience became involved with the project through its already existing, close relationship with the Country Road Group. Dave Buchanan, Senior Design Coordinator at Ambience, told arc: “The initial brief focused on sustainability and flagship innovation. The project took approximately eighteen months from initial briefing to completion. 

“The key challenge was achieving a certified 5 Star Green Star rating while meeting budget, project timelines and implementing a creative yet functional solution for the brand. Our team of talented lighting designers overcame all challenges through collaboration with the Green Star consultant, innovation and a dedication to excellence.”

The Green Star certification is a rating system of stars and points issued by the Green Building Council of Australia, which encourages and assesses sustainable and environmentally conscious design, construction and operation of buildings. 

Approaching the rating from a lighting point of view, it was important for the Ambience team to pay close attention to the lighting comfort levels and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Country Road store. 

“There are standard measures like using flicker free fittings and specific settings on the Colour Rendering Index,” explained Stephen Justice, Communications Director at Ambience. 

“The back of house and store room were placed on sensors and shopfront lighting was placed on a timer. For the general illuminance and glare reduction, we specified diffusers, softening lenses and honeycomb louvres to all fittings in the nominated area, to reduce  glare. 

Applying localised lighting control to all the task areas allowed the ability to adjust the light levels in the immediate environment (counter and back of house areas) for staff members,” he continued.   

To combat the greenhouse gas emissions, the team at Ambience achieved an incredible 40% reduction to the Part J6, 2016-2019 BCA. 

“The approach to this was a lot harder than it sounds,” explained Justice. “We had to reduce the percentage of the illumination power density by specifying more efficient fittings that achieve the right light levels with less light and less power consumption.” 

Buchanan added: “The architectural documentation went through multiple iterations to perfect the brand’s vision and create a benchmark of inspiration for the retail industry. As a result, the lighting design, specification and layout was continually refined to suit the documentation. The modifications introduced regular assessments of the Green Star requirements to ensure compliance.” 

Using Ambience’s own fixtures, the team had to create a scheme that would work around the architectural features of the store. Internal artistic ceiling features include formed ceiling channels and oak curved wood timber curtains. Integrated light sources are concealed within the curtain wraps to provide subtle, dappled lighting to the oak finish. 

“The lighting design captured the essence of the brand’s commitment to sustainability and the celebrated Australian lifestyle through pioneering best industry practice, the latest luminaire technology and a considered architectural lighting approach. The garments exuded luxury through excellent colour rendition and precise aiming,” explained Buchanan. 

“The architecture, lighting and brand ethos elegantly dovetail to produce a fashion forward, iconic installation.

“Country Road Chadstone was one of the most challenging yet rewarding and educational projects. A career defining milestone for all involved.” 

Country Road Managing Director, Elle Roseby, said the relaunch of the Chadstone flagship store was a milestone for both the brand and the industry: “Our Chadstone flagship revolutionises the retail experience, maintaining our commitment to quality, while demonstrating our connection to the environment. It shows that sustainability in fashion extends into retail store fit-outs, as well as garment production.” 

Paul Digby, Creative Director from HMKM in London, commented: “Country Road is a truly Australian lifestyle brand, brought to life through a ‘Curated landscape’, where the outdoors effortlessly flows in. Natural, local materials and craft tradition are celebrated through the store design, where the environment is cherished and respected. A unique retail landscape referencing the country’s riches, putting community and sustainability at its heart. All with the aim to be Australia’s first 5-Green Star lifestyle store.” 

www.ambiencelighting.com.au

by dbell

Pro Shop powered by '47, USA

The Hub on Causeway in Boston, USA, is a joint-venture development of Delaware North and Boston Properties, consisting of more than 1.5 million sqft of mixed-use retail, office, hotel and residential space, as well as an expansion of TD Garden - home of the Boston Bruins NHL team and NBA’s Boston Celtics.

This transit-oriented development is a significant investment that will bring substantial improvements to North Station, create major economic impact for the area, and enhance the vitality of this important district in the city of Boston.

As part of the project, the Pro Shop powered by ‘47, the official team store of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics, has been expanded and relocated to a prominent location at the Hub on Causeway entrance to TD Garden.

Bergmeyer, a Boston-based design collaborative channelled the core values of Boston’s sports teams - grit, heart, heritage and authenticity - when developing the designs for the new store, creating an immersive retail environment that celebrates Boston’s historic local sports franchises. The store design seamlessly blends exposed ceilings, honed concrete floors, large retail store fixtures constructed of rough-cut wood and welded steel, and an actual section of parquet flooring from the original TD Garden basketball court, complete with state-of-the-art audio-visual displays and digital signage.

The store experience is supported by a multi-layered retail and entertainment lighting scheme, designed by Hartranft Lighting Design. Merchandise lighting is largely accomplished with Bruck’s SMARTrack LED track lights, while the architecture is complemented with supplemental ambient and accent lighting, which includes linear lighting with acoustic baffles for sound dampening, provided by the likes of ETC, Philips Color Kinetics, QTRAN and Focal Point.

Alongside this, hat displays have integrated LED shelf lighting, courtesy of QTRAN, mannequins stand atop LED backlit pedestal bases, and a 16ft diameter ring of light – Zaneen’s Glorious 5400 Suspension - encircles an enormous, centrally located t-shirt display. One of the most striking features of the Pro Shop is a floor-to-ceiling rotating jersey wall that displays Bruins or Celtics merchandise, backlit with Philips Color Kinetics’ PureStyle Intelligent Color Powercore RGBA linear LED grazers, programmed for each team’s home colours of gold and green respectively on appropriate game days.

The use of dynamic, DMX-led lighting to support the teams and events at TD Garden extends much further beyond the backlit wall display, as more than 40 ETC theatrical wash lights and 20 ETC moving heads, programmed with shows created by the lighting designers, indicate 30 minutes to game time, half time, game wins and, in real time, when a goal is scored during Bruins hockey games. To add drama and impact to these moments, the store’s retail lighting dims down, returning to operational levels when the shows conclude.

When Hartranft Lighting Design initially presented concepts to the owners and store management staff, there were concerns about ease of use, due to inadequate lighting controls at the store’s former location, which resulted in store staff using circuit breakers to control the lights. As such, it was important to have a simple, reliable user experience for the Pro Shop management and staff. Management therefore requested that the lighting have a time lock control to turn the lights on before opening and also after hours for restocking, and to automatically set the colour of the theatrical lighting based on team schedules. 

To meet these needs, the lighting designers knew that they would need one lighting control system that would integrate the retail store lighting and the lighting shows, and integrate with the lighting control system in the TD Garden arena and building exterior.

The merchandise types and store layout warranted an ability to group the track lighting by zones. The lighting designers felt that a wireless control solution would simplify installation, and allow for future ‘grouping’ of fixtures, if necessary. Further to this, they were intrigued by a new technology that would allow them to adjust the beam spreads of the track lighting without lenses or filters. This could then provide them with a tool to fine-tune the light distribution on the variety of merchandise displays from the shop floor.

They selected LEDRA Brands’ Bruck track lighting fixtures, which incorporate Xicato complete solution light engines with Bluetooth wireless control and LensVector beam shaping. This combination met the lighting control and beam shaping needs of the project.

When it came to integrating the store’s retail lighting and DMX-controlled theatrical lighting within the larger lighting control system of the TD Garden, Hartranft  Lighting Design worked with local ETC representative Boston Illumination Group to specify components that would facilitate the eventual integration with the arena’s large-scale Pharos control system.

Through speaking with the technical and engineering staff members at Xicato, Hartranft learned that ETC and Xicato had previously collaborated on another project that would enable ETC’s Mosaic Show controllers to communicate with Xicato wireless gateways. The Mosaic Show controllers would also be able to send commands to other loads that include 0-10V and DMX control protocols. Again, this combination of lighting control capabilities met the needs of the project, and was incorporated into its drawings and specifications.

To facilitate commissioning, the lighting designers needed to identify and number each of the 250-plus wirelessly controlled track heads. Using reflected ceiling plan drawings, Hartranft developed a colour-coded numbering system by store department, which helped with putting the light fixtures into groups and scenes.

Xicato commissioning service representatives spent three days on site with the lighting designers, commissioning the wireless lighting system. During this time, they worked with the TD Garden’s IT department to create a closed WiFi network communication with the ETC lighting control system. The general lighting was commissioned to recall four scenes - pre open, store open, dynamic show and after hours.

Using the same lighting control panel, lighting designers worked to aim each track light and set beam angles. The ability to adjust each beam of light remotely from the shop floor made it very easy for the designers to make precise choices on various merchandise displays.

Alongside this, Hartranft worked with Barbizon Lighting to programme the theatrical wash and moving lights to create the desired lighting shows, which would be triggered from the arena’s lighting control system.

Speaking on completion of the project Hartranft’s Paula Ziegenbein said: “This was a very exciting design. Not only did the lighting need to reinforce the floor plan and make the merchandise look spectacular, we also needed to creatively integrate colour and movement to make the store come alive, and all of this needed to be flawlessly integrated, which was extremely technical and challenging to execute.

“This project demanded equal parts right and left-brain engagement, for sure. But how exciting to have these once unimaginable lighting tools available to make it all come together.”

With its highly complex controls design, this project is the first of its kind to combine Bluetooth wirelessly controlled lighting with beam shaping technology, that interfaces these light fixtures and others with 0-10V and DMX loads onto a single point of lighting show control that receives commands from the arena lighting control system. 

Tracey Zaslow of AEC Solutions added: “The Pro Shop staff are thrilled with the lighting automation, and the enhanced ability to make programming changes quickly and easily from their smartphones.”

The end result is a seamless system that takes the burden of lighting control off the store staff, and facilitates a dynamic, immersive retail environment for Boston’s sports fans, concert goers, attendees of other TD Garden events, and rail travellers using Boston’s North Station as a destination.

www.hartranftlighting.com

by dbell