Electrolight provided a lighting design to enhance the architect’s vision for the lobby, with the scope extending to the design of a custom light sculpture, which was inspired by the organic form and movement.
Electrolight was engaged by Mirvac to undertake specialist lighting design services for the foyer spaces of the 367 Collins Street redevelopment project.
The brief for the project was to align the design of the foyer with the luxurious aspect of Collins Street. It was also fundamentally important that, in keeping with local trends in the workplace, the space felt more relaxed and catered for informal meetings and working spaces.
To provide an additional point of differentiation, there was also scope included for the design of a custom lighting installation and we were encouraged to propose whatever we believed suited the space.
Throughout the design process, we worked closely with the client and had a strong collaboration with Schiavello (the builder) and Woods Bagot (architect and interiors).
Our primary aim was to develop a lighting scheme that formed a partnership with the architecture and interior design and that created a warm, inviting atmosphere to the 367 Collins Street interior. The lighting scheme needed to be sophisticated yet dedicated to the revelation of built details and assist with task and successful way finding.
Light was married at every opportunity to the detail of the architecture, aiming to be discreet, yet dramatic and theatrical. We sought to complement and reveal the architectural materials, lines and volumes completing a harmony of design.
The opportunity of a custom piece was important to the overall design as we used it to address one of the biggest challenges of the now expanded space, its sheer size. Inspired by Alexander Calder’s “Mobile” artworks we devised a series of suspended, seemingly weightless discs in materials that complimented the interior design.
This lighting installation helped make the lounge space more intimate without filling it up. Our close collaboration with Volker Haug studio, which further developed the custom design, was fundamental to its success.
An additional challenge was the direction to limit the locations of downlighting in the ceiling to avoid working with the inherited asbestos. Powerful yet discrete pin-hole downlights were used that could be adjusted to achieve the required coverage from a handful of locations, while minimising glare as much as possible.
This strategic thinking was used throughout in order to minimise overall costs by thinking of the lighting holistically, and to allow us to introduce multiple lighting layers. All lighting was recessed, louvered and concealed as much as possible to minimise sight lines and to allow the architecture to be the key focus.
Introducing a more comprehensive lighting control system allowed for deeper fine tuning during commissioning. The control system also allowed us to create multiple lighting scenes for different scenarios of operation (including an event scene), that allowed the client to maximise the lighting effects and thus the apparent quality in the space while also reducing energy use.
