25 North Wall Quay, Ireland

25 North Wall Quay, developed and owned by IPUT Real Estate Dublin and occupied by A&L Goodbody, was designed to deliver a contemporary, elegant and timeless experience. The lighting design reinforces the architectural identity of the building. From the outset, the concept established a coherent, intuitive and engaging environment in which architecture and light operate as a single, interconnected language.

A key focus of the strategy was illuminating the architectural volumes and enhancing the expression of materials. The interior finishes palette introduces a warm and tactile mix of elements: feature limestone clad walls, white terrazzo flooring, suspended timber baffled ceilings and oak veneered doors, complemented by bronze detailing, including skirting and ironmongery applied throughout the space.

Vertical surfaces, particularly the reception’s double height feature stone walls, are gently washed with light to sharpen edges, enrich texture and support intuitive wayfinding through the space.

The interior lighting plays a key role in shaping the building’s everyday night-time presence at street level. Light expressed across vertical planes creates a clear, uncluttered and inviting night-time identity. This ensures the building appears active and warm, presenting a lantern-like presence that reinforces architectural clarity from the street.

Circulation routes, from the turnstiles to the lift lobbies, are lit with higher illuminance to support flow and movement. Mini downlights recessed within the suspended baffle ceiling provide a clean and discreet means of illuminating and articulating thresholds without drawing attention to the luminaires themselves.

The lift lobbies offered an opportunity to extend the reception’s lighting language, calibrated in scale to suit the more intimate proportions of the space while introducing new luminaire typologies. A slender linear, direct view homogeneous wall light in a custom RAL copper bronze finish is mounted directly onto the stone surface, adding a refined layer of visual interest. Its soft wash of light across the surrounding walls balances the more direct downward lighting elements within the space.

At the heart of the building, the seven-storey atrium provides a dramatic vertical volume that defines the internal experience. Rising through it, the feature wood clad curved stair forms a sculptural element within the space. Its timber handrail, with a continuous integrated luminaire, creates a soft internal glow that traces and elevates the stair’s geometry. As daylight recedes, this gentle illumination of the stair becomes more pronounced, giving the atrium a distinctive nocturnal character and ensuring this unique element remains a defining visual moment.

Overall, the lighting design elevates the experience at 25 North Wall Quay through a unified and carefully considered approach. A refined palette of luminaires paired with a minimal “less is more” philosophy allows the architecture to speak through light and the light to reinforce the architecture, forming a language grounded in contemporary elegance, sustainability and timeless simplicity. This integrated strategy supported circular lighting principles and advanced the project’s net zero goal through efficient detailing, reduced energy demand and the thoughtful use of light where it has the greatest impact.