Concept
The brief was especially unique for us as architectural lighting designers. The lighting was to play a critical role in transforming the interior of the luxury display suite into a dynamic, interactive user experience. A brief more akin to that of theatrical lighting design, which for us, was equally appealing, as it was challenging.
A visionary collaboration, the Display Suite was to deliver more than a representation of the proposed luxury apartments. The brief called for the provision of a theatrical and immersive experience to captivate, & vastly exceed the user expectation.
A key selling point of the development was it’s location, with Grand Treasury Gardens serving as a backdrop. To capture this unique aspect, the temporary display suite was to reside within the top floor of 1 Collins St – within a considerably smaller space than the proposed. This limitation called for an innovative approach to the conventional display suite design.
Bates Smart conceived 3 spaces consisting of the Theaterette, Gallery & Exhibition, which contained curated “stage sets” to communicate the brand identity of the project. The narrative behind the individual spaces became the driving force behind the application of lighting, alongside the fundamental aims; to highlight materiality & architectural form.
Lighting was to be dynamic & continually transforming, directing the occupant’s focus, drawing them into unique moments, & provoking the transition from one space to the next.
The conceptual direction was focused on refined detailing, luxurious materials, the curation of sculptural elements, & reference imagery of installations by Robert Irwin, who’s work captures themes of perception & experience with light, aesthetics & questions of reality & illusion. This provided us with the aspiration to integrate lighting within unique architectural details, utilise materiality & employ theatrical lighting techniques to heighten & shape the occupant’s perception.
Design Solution
The narrative of the journey was defined with the architects direction & a strategy to use lighting to guide the user along the desired pathway was devised. Using this narrative, much like a script, we created defined, intimate environments, which would be dramatically transformed, through subtle shifts & grand gestures, using soley, the purposeful application of light.
Screening elements were used to harness full control over the lighting within each space. The occupant was lead through a room, which was transformed multiple times, using mostly concealed light sources. Translucent materials allowed us the opportunity to conceal & reveal spaces, create intrigue & build anticipation.
Physical mockups were essential in navigating our way through this extremely subjective design – bringing the design process back to real life rather than relying on computer generated results.
The use of warm light created an intimate and inviting ambience. Colour was introduced through the use of theatrical gel films to create contrast, evoke emotion and heighten the visual depth and complexity of each space.
To deliver this theatrical and dynamic experience, we worked in close collobaration with the architect & automation specialist, to create a series of “scenes” that would be triggered by cues via a handheld tablet. This allowed the agent to be in tune with the pace of the occupants & judge in real time, when key tranformations would take place.
One of the most challenging aspects of the project, was fine tuning the timing and transition of scenes. A spectacularly different effect would be created by changing light levels & intensity over the most minute increment.
