High-quality lighting integration, dramatic product-focused lighting and excellent colour rendering were prerequisites to the schematic design of Harrods Men’s Shoes. Concealed precise light sources carefully paired with intricate detailing and carefully coordinated finishes makes the joinery and shoes themselves appear to magically emanate light as if they themselves were the luminaires, drawing the shopper in and enticing the purchase.
The project consists of three rooms, each with its own distinctive brands and products which are complemented by subtle changes to finishes, joinery and lighting to suit the footwear typical to each room. Entering off the central escalator towards room two, the visitor is greeted by a transitional ‘pop up’ space that can be rented by brands complete with dynamic video wall showcase niches. Custom video content can be played over the 24 individual niche backs which give branding opportunity behind the shoes, while focused narrow beam spotlighting profiles are invisibly concealed at the front in the box tops to punch light onto the front of the footwear on display. Brands can also take over the flanking shelves lit by linear diffused lighting and focused ceiling recessed spotlighting giving a prominent showcase right in the centre of Harrods.
Room two in the centre of the project with red carpet has perimeter shelving units where products are lit from high colour rendering concealed narrow beam spotlighting profiles tucked inside black chamfered joinery detailing. The chainmail rear of the shelving units is lit by deep recessed diffused concealed linear LED, to provide ambient light to the shelving and space. Signage at the top of each unit is backlit with extra warm white lighting; layered with horizontal and vertical fluted acrylic behind clear flat acrylic, that carries the branding. The effect makes the signage panels feel almost like decorative wall lights, and the colour temperature of the light was detailed to match the bespoke designed vertical wall lights. Lighting to the space is paired down and mainly provided by concealed coffer lighting with small aperture dark light reflector downlights providing focussed illumination to midfloor fixtures and displays.
Room 1 with green carpet and formal shoes has the same lighting treatment, its own dynamic video wall and private shopper room.
Room 3 the trainer room features zigzag dual layer shelving units with concealed focussed fittings adjusted in two rows to focus the light effect exactly to the footwear. These units also have chainmail backlighting, lit with diffused lighting behind the zigzag, to tie the ambient effect to the other two rooms. Room 3 also has displays with bespoke designed plinth top luminaires that provide both ambient light and focussed light to the shoes at the edge of the walkways, allowing minimal numbers of downlights, so that the ceiling in circulation spaces appear clean, lit from diffused coffer lighting.
Lower levels of ambient light, with highly focussed well-integrated joinery lighting, make the shoes the real focus, while high colour rendering and cleaver use of colour temperature add drama.
