Cooper Lighting has supplied a wide variety of luminaires for the new headquarters building of SIG plc, which was founded in 1957 as Sheffield Insulations and has now grown into a £3 billion multinational distributor of specialist construction products.
Located in Sheffield Business Park, Signet House provides 22,000 sq ft of office space for group management and departments such as HR and finance. The key requirement for the lighting scheme was to maximise energy efficiency while at the same time providing a high-quality lit environment.
To achieve this aim, over 600 of Cooper’s Combiform Plus 2 x 40W recessed modular luminaires were installed in open-plan areas and individual offices. This fitting uses a curved body and perforated panels to produce a soft-lit effect that complements the direct illumination from its central louvre.
According to Scot Gerry, UK Logistics Director for SIG plc, Combiform Plus is ideal for areas where VDTs are used: “Not only does it deliver well controlled downward lighting, but it also provides gentle illumination of ceilings and vertical surfaces, in line with the CIBSE LG7 guide. In addition, the use of high-frequency control gear and compact fluorescent lamps means that it is very good in terms of energy consumption.”
Energy-efficient lighting of the main entrance lobby was accomplished by an attractive arrangement of Cooper’s Synthesis suspended fluorescent luminaires, together with several Waveform Wall surface fluorescent luminaires. The Synthesis suspended system, which features an elegantly curved, slimline profile, provides balanced lighting using a wide-distribution lens for uniform upward illumination, combined with a choice of louvres for direct downward illumination.
Other Cooper products used in Signet House included Coolstar low-voltage downlights, Cercla surface fluorescent luminaires, new Safe Ex exit signs and Atlantic self-contained emergency luminaires.