As a monumental structure within a neighbourhood of similarly styled buildings, the proposals for the external and internal lighting for 20 Air Street are sympathetic to the aesthetics of Regent Street and Westminster council. Well-crafted exterior lighting plays a positive role in the way that people interact with environment, improving local identity and encouraging people to use public spaces more in the evening hours. An improved lighting design scheme will enliven this entrance to the building and encourage traffic along the streetscape.
The previous external design had little to no street presence, and was a markedly under-lit and ignored part of an otherwise busy and vibrant neighbourhood. Luminaires have been installed on the facade in a manner similar to those seen in the Regent Street, however they were not energised during any of our site visits. The previous scheme has some undesirable characteristics that were improved upon, including; linear uplighting to window bays, no glare shields to luminaires pointing either up or downwards, oversized and obtrusive mounting brackets, no illumination to signage
The new facade Lighting strategy proposed the following:
– Replacement of existing luminaires with new-generation fittings, utilising existing power and mounting locations where feasible.
– Removal of fittings at lower levels that cause intrusive light spill into office interiors.
– Removal of fittings at upper levels that do not add visual impact and contribute to light pollution.
– Addition of signage lighting and decorative wall lights to increase street presence.
As a highly trafficked reception space, the luminaire typologies and specification were chosen for longevity and ease of maintenance. The tubular wall lights were custom-made by DAL to not only provide the correct light levels to the space, but also to be seamlessly integrated into heritage aesthetic and easily demountable/openable for maintenance. Existing iGuzzini luminaires, which were at end of life, were replaced with like-for-like (but smaller and lower wattage) fittings, omitting linear lumianire at parapet level that provided no street presence or aesthetic benefit.
