February 12 2013

Speirs + Major have completed a new lighting design for one of the world’s oldest shopping arcades, the Burlington Arcade on London’s Piccadilly.

The project sought to strip back an agglomeration of conduits, cabling and defunct equipment which had accumulated in the space over the years and the introduction of a new lighting strategy which serves as a nod to the gas lighting which originally illuminated the space in Victorian times.

Commissioned by the Mayer Bergman the scheme seeks to re-establish the arcade as a key luxury retail destination with Blair Associates reinstating many period features without recourse to reproduction lanterns.

Instead the quality of the selected LED lights references the warmth and colour of gas light and is concealed as far as possible within the existing infrastructure to highlight architectural features through uplighting, downlighting and spotlights.

In a statement Speirs + Major said: “All of the arcade lighting is programmed to change automatically through the day.  During the daytime, uplighting and downlighting are only used when there is insufficient daylight, with colour temperature being used selectively according to the season.  During the course of the evening, these main lighting elements progressively dim and warm, allowing the detailing of the architecture to be revealed by the spotlighting.

“For events, an interface has been provided which allows external contractors to plug in their DMX lighting desk and to take control over every lighting element individually to give them total creative freedom over the look of the arcade. As soon as they unplug their equipment, the lighting is restored to its previous settings.”

Photography by James Newton.

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