Borough Yards is one of London’s newest mixed-use developments. Located in the London Borough of Southwark, it was conceived as an “artisan retail hub”, based around a new public realm comprising pedestrian lanes and yards which link Borough Market to Clink Street and the River Thames at Bankside.
The new high-quality public realm has been developed to restore and rejuvenate this important part of South London’s Victorian railway heritage, with this new landmark project re-purposing 8,500sqm of existing railway arches, creating 50 units for retail, food & drink, and leisure brands to create a thriving retail, social, and dining destination.
Equation Lighting Design’s scope included lighting for all public realm areas, exterior building accent lighting and all interior lighting to the repurposed Victorian arches.
The lighting has been designed as a key element that weaves together the distinct areas of Stoney Street, Clink Street, Bank End, enhancing the amenity and atmosphere of the expand retail zone, and providing key visual orientation for locals and shoppers alike, to create a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere at night.
Working in the context of the historic neighbourhood was one of the most important aspects of the design. A traditional building-mounted lantern has been used – with a modern twist – to illuminate the exterior lanes, whilst more contemporary catenary lanterns were specified for the main public open space, to encourage visitors to dwell longer under a canopy of glowing shades at night.
The sequence of arched gateways has been highlighted, externally and internally, with ground recessed uplights to create a dramatic rhythm, enhancing the texture and the materiality of the architecture.
The lighting to the interior arcades was developed to be concealed and minimally integrated within the architecture. With this aim, Equation designed a series of spandrel-integrated spotlights that, by uplighting the arches, are revealing the beauty of the existing Victorian brickwork, whilst also providing circulation and accent lighting to the retail arcades.
As part of the strategy to activate the public spaces at night, festoon lights have been installed along the exterior pathway, to assist wayfinding and orientation. This additional layer of lighting creates a sense of human scale and signifies a long-established and well-used development.
It is important to note that the lighting scheme has been critical to the development of a coherent night-time expression of the various elements of Borough Yards: from architecture to interior design, to landscape and branding, with the aim of establishing a unique and successful sense of place, able to attract visitors and retailers as well as further investment in future.
