Located in Piccadilly, London, Hide is a fine-dining restaurant that offers patrons a unique experience. Set over three floors, the restaurant enjoys stunning views across Green Park from its ‘above’ level, while at street level diners can enjoy a sophisticated meal away from the hustle of the city. A basement bar completes the space.
Hide is a collaboration between Hedonism Wines and Michelin-star winning chef, Ollie Dabbous. Within the space, light supports the natural environment of all three floors, enhancing the rustic interior.
Renowned lighting designers Speirs and Major were appointed to create a lighting scheme that would wow patrons, complement the wealth of natural light coming into the restaurant, and create the ambience needed to complete the dining experience.
Speirs and Major made use of concealed lighting throughout the restaurant and bar, using visible fixtures only where they would contribute to the design of the space.
Each of the different dining experiences available on Hide’s three levels required its own approach, with adjustments to light levels and contrast that would enhance the mood and ambience of the
environment. To achieve this, a high-spec control system was required.
Having worked with Architainment Lighting many times before, Speirs and Major approached the company to provide the complex control system for Hide. The system was commissioned onsite by Architainment Lighting’s expert team.
Architainment Lighting specified three control enclosures throughout the building. The system uses components from market-leading control manufacturers Dynalite and Pharos, which are then operated by user-interfaces and other control equipment. A web page interface has been configured for Hide’s facilities management team, offering an overview of the system and allowing any required changes to be made to the user-defined pre-sets.
The control system brings together the two different technologies, with Dynalite operating as the backbone of the system, and Pharos allowing for the use of DMX effects. The team at Architainment Lighting developed a system where the LPC2 from Pharos sits on the Dynalite RS485 Dynet bus via the serial port, and takes ASCII commands directly from the Dynalite technology. This enables the Pharos elements to monitor the Dynet bus and capture the commands generated from the Dynalite controls and building’s BMS system.
The control system designed and commissioned by Architainment Lighting also supports the three playfully styled private dining rooms. This includes in the Reading Room and the Broken Room, where Speirs and Major created a gentle fade of focus that gradually changes the lighting to reveal a selection of the room’s unique features over the course of a meal.
Neil Gamble, Architainment Lighting’s Sales Director, said:
“Hide restaurant and bar is a magnificent space, so it was a pleasure to be asked to be part of the project team.
“This project is a perfect example of where lighting can make all the difference to the space, the diners and the whole atmosphere. Having extensive knowledge of lighting control systems allowed us to contribute significantly to this, and ensure Speirs and Major’s vision could be implemented.”