Fast-paced contemporary CAT A fitout with exposed concrete soffits

Project Summary:

Location: EC1 London
Sector: Office
Client: Atlas Property
Architect: Thirdway Architecture
Contract: Thirdway Contracts
Electrical Contractor: Elite Electrical Contracting
Value: 133 K
Duration: 4 months
Size: 51,702 sq. ft
Photography: Matt Chisnall

The recent commercial redevelopment of 44 Featherstone in the City of London sees a total reinvention of approximately 51,702 sq ft of contemporary commercial CAT A office space. The ambitious scheme boasts an excellent location within a short walking distance to the City of London. Designed by Thirdway Architecture and brought to life by Thirdway Contracts, the Script at 44 Featherstone stands out from the crowd, undeniably claiming its street presence.

Originally built in the 1960s, the building lived through several reincarnations. It was first used as a metal foundry. In the 1980s, it was over-cladded with a metal facade and used by BT as a digital exchange before it was refurbished in 2014. The building was renamed Defoe Court and leased to a US telecom giant. The building is stretching over 6 floorplates, ground floor and lower ground floor. The latest development sees a complete reinvention and remodeling of the tired commercial building.

We had been approached by the Elite Electrical Contractors project team with the request for lighting design in May 2019. Our team worked closely with Elite Electrical, Prolojik Limited and Thirdway Contracts. Making sure the wireless controls were integrated into the scheme, our lighting designers and project team turned the design concept of Thirdway Architecture into reality.

We revised the original proposed lighting layouts for the luminaires on each floor. The original drawings suggested using short linear profiles. In the process of lighting design, these were lengthened and their quantities were reduced. Our technical team put forward our slim 50mm linear profile Rio Suspended direct/-indirect. Good quality light distribution and compliance were an absolute key for this project.

Make it stand out

The design brief for the Script consisted of three main parts- Connecting the ground floor and the lower ground floor, refurbishment of the floors 1 to 4 and adding 2 extension levels with terraces. The design concept is a homage to the Victorian history of Featherstone Street, connected to the iron foundry trade. That translates into the charcoal metal works, metal windows and metal panels on the exterior of the building.

Make it stand out

Fast-paced contemporary CAT A fitout with exposed concrete soffits at 44 Featherstone Road, London.

Following the current CIBSE standards, our lighting design team engineered a great lighting scheme using one linear profile across the board to keep the design consistent. By lengthening the lighting profiles, we used far less linear profiles and made the scheme more visually comfortable and sustainable. We also provided design and supply services on the back of the house area, as well as the emergency lighting calculations. In this project, the emergency lighting was integrated into the linear profiles. In the back of the house areas, standalone emergency lighting was used.

The remodeled ground floor features a warm and welcoming reception area with a great street-level presence. Entering the building from Featherstone street, the occupiers are greeted by a warm concrete structure, contemporary metal works and softer finishes like the rose gold reception desk, all flooded in daylight. To light the space, the designers chose the combination of contemporary tubular luminaire Bellart Suspended and Bellart Surface mounted.

The large proportion of the ground floor and lower ground floor have been combined in a duplex with a dedicated entrance. The self-contained Studio @ Script offers a spacious split-level workspace flooded with daylight brought through large industrial-style windows.

The Rio Suspended has been used as the main luminaire to provide the general lighting across the entire scheme.

At the edges of the space, Bellart Suspended was used to provide additional lighting. The contemporary matte black finish of the luminaires creates a contemporary look and feel, all framed by the impressive metal staircase connecting the two levels.

The Prolojik lighting control system installed at 44 Featherstone / Defoe Court includes all landlord and tenant areas, controlled via a combination of pluggable LCMs in the ceiling voids and Dali controllers located in the electrical risers. The lighting control strategy consisted of a combination of presence detection, scene control and manual switching across the installation depending on the area and its defined usage. The addressable Dali system by Prolojik is accessible to the client via a Head-end PC installed on-site which allows the user to monitor the entire building-wide lighting network and accurately monitor its energy usage.

EDWARD DAVIES, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER AT PROLOJIK LIMITED

Aesthetically, the 1st to 4th-floor plates are almost identical. The 5th floor features a 506 sq. ft terrace in addition to the office space.

The existing concrete columns and ceiling have been whitewashed to enhance the abundance of the daylight throughout the office space. The white services create a perfect clean canvas for the linear office lighting. The designer’s favourite Rio Suspended direct/-indirect was used throughout the entire scheme. The centrally positioned suspended mesh is a nod to the industrial heritage of the building. It also brings a symmetry and order to the office interior.

Generally, this project was a straightforward one. The only challenge we really had was the spacing of the acoustic rafts running through one part of the office. We had to get the light fittings to sit between these, stay at least 300mm from columns and retain a good spread of light. The building is connected with a stunning metal staircase. Rio Wall-mounted was used as the main luminaire to bring light to this area. It enhances the industrial look and feel of the development. The lighting design for this project was quite straight forward, which is reflected in the number of hours allocated to support the scheme. The scheme uses 4000K colour temperatures throughout. All office lighting was supplied in a contemporary matte black finish as DALI- dimmable. Integrated emergency lighting was supplied for the main office space and back of the house areas. The reception area and the showers have been fitted with a standalone emergency package. The final result is a forward-thinking and contemporary CAT A scheme flooded with daylight and designed with attention to every detail.

SENIOR LIGHTING DESIGNER - MEGAN TRANTER

6 Revisions

Our lighting design team had to create 6 revisions in order to achieve perfection.

37 Design hours

37 design hours were allocated to the interior lighting design for this project

4 Month Duration

The project took four months to complete.

From 800 sqq. ft to 80,000 sq.ft...

Our team has the experience and expertise to help you on a wide range of projects – whatever the size!

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From 800 sqq. ft to 80,000 sq.ft...

Our team has the experience and expertise to help you on a wide range of projects – whatever the size!

get in touch

44 Featherstone road, London