At a recent refurbishment project at Guildford College in Surrey, Ridi Lighting supplied its F-Line to luminaires to complement the suspended acoustic baffle arrangements that were installed to the refurbished classrooms and central hub. Specified by Michael Jones Associates, the luminaires, panels and additional sensors and controls create a well-lit, pleasant and productive environment for students at the college.
Guildford College offers a wide range of courses and qualifications from foundation to degree level. The College’s new learning hub provides a flexible teaching area to accommodate up to 60 people for collaborative working. As well as this space, a selection of classrooms also received a full lighting and multimedia upgrade.
The three lamp suspended variation of Ridi’s F-Line fitting has been installed at the college so that the lighting system harmonises seamlessly with the square acoustic panels. The result is an environment that is suitably lit and acoustically comfortable for its users, which ensures optimum conditions can be maintained for increased productivity and concentration. The project brief also included the design of an integrated control system for the area, incorporating easy, centralised management of the lighting scheme.
Alternative solutions
“The use of the suspended variation of F-line was perfectly suited to this installation as working with the acoustic baffles we were able to ensure the comfort of the end-users. We are now able to offer alternative solutions with independent panels to match a selected range of appropriate products. The aim is to offer something different to the market” says Mike Attard, Managing Director of Ridi UK.
“The teaching rooms have been designed for traditional classroom set ups but can also be adapted to form break out spaces. In each instance the lighting can be adapted to ensure comfort and with the ubiquity of computers, mobile devices and display screens in contemporary teaching, this is essential.”
F-Line’s shallow depth was critical in meeting the architectural requirement of the project. The installed luminaires could not be significantly deeper than the suspended panels, which were mounted between the luminaires. The suspension facility of the fitting allowed for this and was further exploited by designers when accommodating the particulars of the existing structure. The indirect light omitted from the fitting also proved to be a successful feature which further enhanced the appearance of the acoustic panels floating in free space, as well as adding visual enhancement.
Lighting control
In addition to the luminaires, Ridi also supplied its comprehensive controls package, Control 3. This system offers web-based DALI setup and adjustment of light sources and will also interact with wider building management controls if required. At Guildford College this provides the option for greater integration with the new multimedia equipment.
Incorporated into the luminaires, absence/presence and constant light sensors provide added savings. Ensuring that vacant rooms are shut down impacts heavily on energy consumption and with occupied rooms benefiting from the light sensors, overall energy expenditure is reduced. If manual override of this setup is required the interface is extremely user friendly. This allows teachers, students and guest speakers to navigate it with confidence without needing any prior instruction.
This phase of refurbishment is the first of a series that is planned for the college. The lighting setup that has been installed combines the best in functionality – providing a comfortable and productive environment for learning – and results in significant savings to energy output.