118 LIGHT + TECH
made according to patterns of use and the time of the evening.’
The light intensities and scale of the equipment are choreographed to give prominence to the architecture and landscape. Lighting levels tail off adjacent to the Power Station and the Thames, for instance, preserving views while providing an appropriate emphasis on the landmark building. As with any multifaceted project, it was important to reconcile the individuality of spaces with creating a consistent feel across the site. Reflecting the industrial heritage, it was decided to stick to a consistent, warm golden tone (3,000K) across the whole site. Soft lighting to routes, pathways and landscape is welcoming but still meets functional safety and security requirements. Overall light levels are kept minimal to manage energy use and help reduce environmental impact but increased at meeting places, gateways and corners to enhance their visibility and encourage easy social interaction. Perhaps surprisingly, although the subject of many one-off light shows over the years, the Power Station has never been formally illuminated. Because it can be viewed from miles away across London, the lighting design began with identifying the important close, mid and distant views. The scheme is shaped around creating maximum visual impact while building in flexibility. The chimneys are fully lit each night, along with key heritage details – classic art deco niches running the length of the wash towers and the slots in the high-level friezes, for instance – that generally appear as shadows or in silhouette by day. ‘The lighting concept changes the experience of the architecture as darkness falls, giving rise to an exciting new interpretation of the building’s form, texture and colour,’ says Major. Highlighting the iconic chimneys was the greatest technical challenge of the project. Each chimney is massive – 8.8m in base diameter, 27.6m in base circumference and reaching a height of 42m – and there were severe restrictions in possible mounting positions for light fittings.
The design features 50 close-offset projectors for each chimney to ensure precisely controlled coverage and minimal spill light for top floor residents. Rings of high-output RGBW LEDs were carefully designed, detailed, installed, focused and programmed to deliver the desired effect while also minimising the amount of light directed into the night sky. The result is a remarkably even wash of white light (the default everyday setting), causing them to glow beacon-like against the night sky. Given the number of projectors involved, the energy consumption is surprisingly low – operating at 50% (or lower) output, they generate an electrical load of around 2.5kW per chimney – less than the power of a typical kitchen kettle. At the base of each chimney, a carefully controlled wash of warm white light to the geometric shoulders defines the frame of the building when seen against the night sky. The facade lighting is fully addressable and dimmable, with dynamic colour and animated
Right Visual of the original 1930/1931 Turbine Hall A. Gentle highlights to key details include uplighting of the industrial gantries, the main sofit and friezes, and vertical accents to the art deco columns
Bottom left 50 close-offset projectors for each chimney ensure precisely controlled coverage and minimal spill light for top floor residents
Bottom right Light levels are kept minimal to reduce energy and environmental impact but increased at meeting places and gateways to help visibility and encourage social interaction
light shows on the chimneys for events and civic occasions included as a part of the design – an important part of the brief – as well as infrastructure for the addition of event lighting and special effects on the facades. This was achieved in a collaboration with renowned entertainment and architectural lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe, known, among many achievements, for his long association with the Rolling Stones, and orchestrating the lighting for the 2012 Olympics.
Inside, within the vast turbine halls and boiler houses, there are four major new retail spaces with three entirely different characters, designed by architect WilkinsonEyre. Speirs Major has a long track record of working with WilkinsonEyre, including repurposing old industrial buildings, two award-winning – Magna in Rotherham and Gasholders at King’s Cross. The aim was to achieve a careful balance between ‘maintaining the raw energy of the
original spaces’ while defining their new role. Keeping the palette of equipment relatively simple and minimal, light is applied in different ways to support the unique character of each space.
Functional light is predominantly kept local to the level it is illuminating, using a combination of integrated handrail lighting, and period-appropriate industrial pendants and bulkheads, with high-level downlighting only added where needed. Over this, a layer of architectural accent lighting enhances and reveals the defining details. It was not as easy as it may look, according to Major. ‘While both the exterior and interior response may appear simple, the huge scale of the project and the massive underlying complexities in working on a much-loved listed historic structure required as many as 10–15 individual lighting details for each space.’
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