Lighting in Design August-September 2017

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In spite of reports we have read in recent years about the possible
demise of the traditional office and the move towards the virtual work-
place, office development continues to thrive. In addition, employee
wellbeing has become an increasingly important and welcome focus in
office design. New office developments make it possible for employees
not to be restricted to a single desk or office, standing desks are ‘in’,
spaces are designed with the intention of encouraging collaboration
and teamwork among personnel, and lighting is pivotal.
Lighting briefs are increasingly centred on staff comfort: the lighting
brief for the new Sasol headquarters in Sandton was for an efficient
lighting system, designed with staff comfort in mind. Vigilant Global, a
research, development and IT company redesigned its offices – interest-
ingly, used only by employees – and they were required to be impressive
and appealing to new recruits and support the health and productivity
of the company’s staff contingent.
One tends to think of office spaces being built to impress clients more
than employees so it is refreshing to see that the focus is changing,
especially as we spend so much of our day at work. It is also interesting
that workspaces are often multi-functional and designed using move-
able walls, moveable furniture, and sit-stand workstations, allowing
reconfiguration for various open and closed spaces.
The lighting design for these projects becomes more complex and
a uniform distribution of consistent light levels does not support the
diversity of tasks that the spaces allow for. Careful fixture selection is
required and lighting control systems come into their own. Using a full
light management system, each fixture can be controlled individually
and the light levels can be tailored to support the function in each zone.
Also in this issue of Lighting in Design, Gregg Cocking, in his article
Light: the defining element , illustrates – by looking at three very different
projects – the expertise that architects and lighting designers brought
to the projects, each of which displays deftness in its design and an
awareness of light and its ability to be the element that rounds off the
development. This skill is evident too in the recently opened Springs
Mall. The retail centre is designed by MDS Architecture, who used
its location – alongside a wetland – as a catalyst for its design, which
includes contemporary interpretations of tactile timber, stone and other
natural materials. Natural lighting features prominently, but throughout
the building there is a warm, inviting ambience, and accent lighting is
used creatively to emphasise pockets of interest.
Enjoy the read!
Editor: Karen Grant )
Advertising manager: Carin Hannay )
Layout: Adel JvR Bothma
Circulation: Karen Smith
Cover: Springs Mall Photograph courtesy MDS Architecture
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