Showcasing an exceptional hospitality experience that was a case study in resourcefulness and the circular economy, the project saw us use lighting to revitalise an old cigarette factory boiler room into a contemporary restaurant & brewery.
A bold idea with creative and technical excellence was paramount. We also wanted to use the lit environment to help elevate a concept that worked just as much aesthetically as psychologically. From here the fantastical idea of having a beer in an eternal sunset was born – the golden hour.
We tailored and engineered all the light fittings to have layers of optimised filters that replicated the natural colours and tones of a sunset – a massive but ultimately rewarding undertaking. The design approach utilised natural light during the day, and we simplified the dimming controls but still provided the flexibility to control the light levels through the day or evening.
All the light fittings across the project had their very own story. These were not box-in-and-install. In a commitment to sustainability and integration with the design intent, the team took the extraordinary step of creating from scratch a number of fixtures themselves, customising or repurposing, refurbishing and then reusing abandoned fixtures from the original factory.
The team’s goal was to foster an authentic representation and design that is at home within the space. A follow-through and tradition from previous collaborations with Stomping Ground that not only permeate through each experience but act like a stamp of authenticity upon the space. The tricky part was decommissioning the old lights and then refitting them to be constant with the sunset theme. A time consuming and physically exhausting process. The budget wouldn’t allow us to use cutting-edge technology, so we had to look at theatre and photography techniques to help achieve that desired effect.
There was a swathe of varying areas to illuminate, it was a feat to perfect delicate light pools of illumination gently descending across surfaces. This was married with perfecting task lighting so the core of the business can operate safely and efficiently. It was critical to ensure that the distribution of the light fall on the skin consistently across the space. So, we did a lot of naked eye testing and modifications to make sure distribution was consistent throughout.
A hallmark of the space was the intricate architecture, so this called for a lot of customisations and creating of a lighting strategy to integrate within the architecture. For example, linear fixtures within beam coves. The lights also had to be concealed within the spaces, so it looked like sunlight filtering down from within the beams.
Being so hands-on in replicating a sunset and that golden hour ourselves made it possible to experiment with our innovative approach, giving us absolute assurance that our desired effect was not only possible but being executed successfully.
