122 LIGHT + TECH
Left Wembley Stadium’s changing rooms were given a light design that encourages teamwork, energy, diversity and, if the happy need arises, celebration
Right The Chimney Lift visitor experience at the newly regenerated Battersea Power Station
Below The BBC Earth Experience at London’s Earls Court
MICHAEL GRUBB STUDIO THE STORY SO FAR
When Michael Grubb set up Michael Grubb Studio in 2013, he did so with 15 years’ experience, awards including Lighting Designer of the Year, and the role of 2012 Olympics Learning Legacy Ambassador for Lighting under his belt. Grubb positioned the new practice in the space between architectural lighting design and light art. An ethos revolving around community, communication and creativity was evident in early projects, including the creation of Bournemouth’s Gardens of Light festival, and Re:Lit – a long-running initiative that puts otherwise perfect lighting equipment destined for landfill to use in community projects. In typically contrarian fashion, Grubb successfully built the consultancy in Bournemouth when the conventional wisdom was that London was the place to be, but set up a second studio
in the capital as remote working became mainstream.
Clients such as the Guinness Store House in Dublin and the ethical cosmetics firm Lush were key to the consultancy’s development. Many MGS schemes reach beyond lighting into narrative, particularly where it feeds into a brand or the story of a place. Story-telling and brand reinforcement were at the nub of the Guinness scheme, while at Lush Liverpool, the spa lighting works in harmony with music based on research into the pre-sleep hypnogogic state. At Wembley Stadium Changing Facilities, the studio tapped into the skills and specialisms of the England Performance team to create lighting that aids focus, inclusivity, calming and even celebration in the event of a victory. While Michael Grubb Studio also has large-scale projects for multibillion-pound developments, such as London’s Silver Town and Brent Cross Town, the practice
still tells more intimate but involving stories through interior lighting at locations such as Ad Gefrin, the new museum and distillery in Northumbria; the BBC Earth Experience in London’s Earls Court, and the Chimney Lift visitor experience at Battersea Power Station. Looking back, Grubb says that from the start the practice wanted light to create a big impact in its projects. ‘It wasn’t that I don’t believe that if a scheme’s done well, you shouldn’t notice the lighting. It’s more that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people thinking “wow, the lighting’s amazing in this place” either,’ he says.
But while straddling the architecture/ art divide helped set the practice apart, ‘the biggest diff erence between then and now,’ he adds, is that clients and design partners alike have a greater appreciation of the role lighting design plays in enhancing place and space. ‘Today people genuinely want to learn about light.’
WEMBLEY CHANGING ROOMS: TOM BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY / BATTERSEA POWER STATION: RALPH APPELBAUM ASSOCIATES/ANDREW LEE / BBC EARTH EXPERIENCE: MIKE MASSARO
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