The Westminster Bridge Road Regeneration work is part of a project being run by Lambeth Council, with the aim of making improvements for those who live in, work in and visit the local areas.
Lighting Designers Michael Grubb Studio was appointed by Lambeth Council to deliver creative lighting schemes for four historic rail underpasses, which had suffered from a lack of care and investment.
One specific underpass was Westminster Bridge Road. Following public engagement work, it was identified that this area needed to be redeveloped, for pedestrians and other users. Seen as a dark and dingy railway arch, users wanted it to become a safer place to use, as well as more visually appealing.
Michael Grubb Studio was briefed with making the space more interesting, while co-designing the area with the community. Lambeth Council wanted local people to feel involved in the project and have a sense of pride in their contribution to making the area better for future generations. Schools and community groups took part in design workshops, and during these sessions they developed artwork concepts. These were then used for some of the projections.
Having worked with Architainment Lighting previously and knowing them to deliver reliable products and service, the team at Michael Grubb Studio brought them into the project. As well as supplying the lighting products, Architainment provided onsite commissioning with the team too.
As the design featured colour changing lights, Architainment supplied products from the Phillips ColorKinetics range, more specifically the ColorReach LED fixtures. The ColorReach multi-colour changing LED lamps are programmable, which will allow Lambeth Council to choose lighting to mark special days, celebrating local, national and international events.
The lighting design also transformed the girders of Westminster Bridge Road into notable features, flooding them with colour to enhance the beautiful Victorian architecture of the underpass. This has led to pedestrians and visitors being able to fully appreciate their striking structure and form.
Stuart Alexander, Senior Designer, Michael Grubb Studios says ‘We engaged with Architainment early on in this project, they listened to what we were looking to achieve and supported us in making it happen. From sales, to onsite, and beyond, the team were at hand and ready to deliver with their extensive cross section of support. You simply don’t get that level of technical support with many companies, their attention to detail from start to finish ensured a seamless project delivery. Architainment care, and that combined with their professionalism, knowledge and technical know-how really made them stand out’.
As well as their lighting capabilities, the ColorReach products are robust and able to withstand tough environments. Rated to IP66, the units are ideal for dry, damp or wet locations, all of which archway environments can be, as they are exposed to the elements and can face issues such as water dripping from the bridge above.
In addition to the Phillips Color Kinetics lighting, Architainment Lighting also supplied custom brackets for the products. As with the lights themselves, the brackets needed to be able to withstand the often-challenging conditions of an archway. The brackets were therefore specified to cope with any potential hazards, as well as being coated with a special paint to offer further protection against their environment.