The Project
The Herbert Smith Freehills Belfast offices are located at Cromac Quay in the iconic Gas Works redevelopment site. Having opened in 2011, the team at HSF Belfast has grown from 19 to over 350. In 2020, the offices started the modernisation and refit process that has taken the site in Belfast to a whole new level. Lightsource Studio worked closely with consulting engineers, Williams & Shaw, to provide a high quality and energy efficient lighting scheme.
The Lighting
Notable lighting throughout the building includes the oval pendants that are suspended over the boardroom and meeting tables. The Wave system from Intra Lighting has been selected for a number of reasons. The modularity of the system meant that various sizes of the light fitting could be produced to suit the size and output required for specific areas. Like many Intra fittings, the majority of parameters are customisable to ensure the correct colour temperature, optics, lumen output and dimming systems were available for each use case.
There was an emphasis on acoustic control within the specification for the building. Buzzispace acoustic control systems have been used frequently throughout the large open spaces. These are the large, black decorative pendants you can see in the general circulation areas and open plan meeting spaces. Acoustically engineered fabric allows designers to incorporate acoustic control without the sacrifice of overall aesthetic.
The Mocca S by Intra Lighting has been suspended over meeting tables where a controllable level of light was required. The elegant light fitting is unique in that it is both an up and down lighter with the ability to operate each element of the lighting independently, depending on the level of lighting required.
Chiara Lighting downlights and surface mounted spotlights have been installed extensively throughout the building. The quality of light, aesthetics, low glare rating and energy efficiency made the Chiara fittings an obvious choice for the project. The FX4 quad downlights are of particular note due to their sleek black finish and quadruple LED’s that are housed deep in the body of the fitting to minimise glare. The minimal trim was ideal for the modern design of the building.
