Nulty worked on the respectful regeneration of Leake Street Arches in London Waterloo by lighting 300 metres of dramatic street art, highlighting and celebrating the artwork, while improving the quality of light throughout the urban and individual space.
The iconic ‘graffiti tunnel’ is one of the only legal walls in the UK where artists can express their creativity in public and it has been used for countless film and TV shoots. The lighting scheme elevates the graffiti, turning the tunnel into a bespoke art gallery, while creating an atmospheric destination for locals and tourists.
When designing the lighting concept, three main elements were taken into consideration: the space had to be flexible for future events, the light fittings had to be robust and the scheme had to showcase the unique and ever-changing artwork on the tunnel’s walls.
The lighting design within the tunnel features a theatrical truss suspended down the underpass. Mounted on the truss are a series of spotlights that provide gallery-quality lighting to pick up on the colourful artwork.
During the design process Nulty worked closely with Secure by Design (SBD) to ensure that any light fixtures used within the tunnel could withstand wear and tear. Bespoke spotlights were designed to have an anti-glare cowl, for a more theatrical appearance, along with a secondary glass lens that can be easily removed and cleaned, should fittings be spray painted over.
Linear RGBW uplights were mounted on top of the truss to illuminate the arched ceiling with a wash of white light and highlight the architecture of the space. The uplights have colour-changing capabilities that can be tailored to create various moods for different events within the tunnel.
Accent lighting is provided by light fixtures that have been carefully mounted at the base of the arches, above the retail units, to celebrate the curved architecture of the space.
Nulty Managing Director, Ellie Coombs said: “It’s not often you get a project right on your doorstep. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to collaborate with our local community and be part of the development of an urban space that our team know, love and use on a daily basis.”
