Nulty worked with global design studio Unknown Works to design a lighting scheme for Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery. A permanent exhibition that addresses the rapid energy transition required to reduce climate change on a global scale, the gallery features objects and digital exhibits that highlight how we can journey towards a low carbon world.
Nulty’s lighting design reinforces the goal set by The Science Museum Group and Unknown Works to incorporate sustainability and circular economy principles in the design process. The scheme features repurposed light fittings from the museum’s previous exhibition. The team also sourced the majority of the light fittings from manufacturers with proven circularity credentials.
At the entrance to the space, a single light bulb denotes the start of the experience and draws the eye to an inscription on the wall that conveys the message – ‘it all starts with an idea’. Activated by PIR sensors, the light bulb slowly turns on, then pulsates to create a moment to reflect on the role that energy plays in our lives.
Inside the gallery, track mounted spotlights in the gantry soffit direct light onto the interactive displays, and framing projectors accentuate objects of interest. Both solutions feature components repurposed from the preceding exhibition – the spotlights are powered by the existing tracks from the base build, while the framing projectors have been retrofitted with LEDs to replace the original halogen lamps.
Spotlights on hooks illuminate the space above the plinths further down and provide a layer of ambient light. Designed to safeguard the artefacts on show, each LED luminaire has been fitted with a special lens and honeycomb louvre to minimise glare. The individual plinths also feature human-scale illumination in the form of stem-mounted spotlights that produce halos of light on the information plates.
The centrepiece of the Energy Revolution experience is a kinetic sculpture by artists Alexandra Carr and Colin Rennie from Torus Torus Studios. As the sculpture slowly expands and retracts, spotlights were positioned around the piece to direct warm amber light onto the surfaces and cast shadows across the central area.
Elsewhere in the gallery, visitors can view a quadrant from the Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly (ZETA), a nuclear fusion experiment by British scientists in the late 1950s. Here, dynamic light emanates out of the quadrant to create a sense of movement that subtly alludes to the power of the artifact.
Another interactive display provides an opportunity to experience the full scale of a parabolic trough solar mirror. The team offset the circular form of the trough with a vertical light box – the backlit wall emits a diffuse yellow glow to reference the energising force of the sun and bounce light onto the soffit above. Linear projectors were then mounted above the lightbox and angled to direct light onto the trough and form golden pools of light on the floor.
