Award-winning lighting design by WGE

WGE’s Specialist Lighting team have been recognised for their work in the 2017 WA Architecture Awards. The team’s lighting design for Woods Bagot’s Perth studio received the Mondoluce Lighting Award.

Woods Bagot transformed the heritage-listed former Palace Hotel to develop a contemporary workplace environment with a distinctive contemporary aesthetic that acknowledges the building’s past.

The project features a mezzanine atrium for social gatherings and collaborative work, enclosed meeting spaces, seated and standing workstations and a stair that connects the three levels.

WGE’s Specialist Lighting team approached the project with the goal of providing lighting design and control strategies that create a noteworthy space, reflecting the personality and sophistication of the Woods Bagot Perth team.

Their innovative approach to Australian workplace lighting focused on flexibility and ‘lighting for purpose’ rather than a blanket approach to illuminating a floor plate. Consideration and respect was given to the heritage elements of the building by melding old and new, whilst giving all of the technological benefits of a modern workplace.

Project challenges:

• Working with a heritage building, new penetrations couldn’t be made without huge cost. To overcome this, the team worked very closely with the architectural and construction teams to ensure that all luminaires were powered from existing power sources and connection points were as concealed as possible to create a seamless integrated look where the illuminated space became the focus rather than the light itself.
• The office spaces are open with no walls or demarcation points. Floor lamps and pendants were used to identify different spaces to encourage different treatments and uses for the space. This is a subtle use of light psychology that defines separate areas in an open space.
• The Client wanted to be able to control the standing floor lamps from their main lighting control system which is usually achieved with floor boxes but because the heritage building had no existing floor boxes, a new strategy had to be devised. To reduce costs, a simple strategy was devised where the lights were wired in series and wires would follow through an umbilical cord where the PC cables would be consolidated and lighting wires were connected to the existing lighting control systems in place.

Head of WGE’s Specialist Lighting team, Dave Anderson says the project required innovative solutions to achieve the brief.

“With heritage limitations, we had to think outside the box and come up with a smart design that showcases the heritage features but is still functional,” he said.

“We are so proud to be recognised by the architecture industry for our work.”