Lighting at the new offices for Jobcentre Plus in Old Tree Court in Plymouth is being controlled by a Rapid lighting management system supplied by CP Electronics. A key factor in the specification of the lighting management system was the flexibility to accommodate future changes in office layout with minimum disruption and cost.
Jobcentre Plus is part of the Department for Work and Pensions and helps unemployed and economically inactive people move into employment, while also helping employers to fill vacancies. Old Tree Court provides a public-access Job Centre at ground floor level with open plan administrative offices on the upper floors.
The lighting was installed in two phases, with the likelihood that some of the original open plan space would be converted to cellular offices during the second phase. For this reason, it was important that the lighting could be re-configured after installation via the Rapid lighting management system, with the control regime being fine-tuned to the client’s specific requirements.
“The lighting controls were chosen to enable us to provide a cost-effective solution and offer the end-client total flexibility for the future changes to the building use,” explained Bob Corne of Mitie Engineering Services, which carried out the first phase installation.
As well as providing flexibility, the Rapid system ensures the lighting is run efficiently through the use of presence detectors to switch lighting off in unoccupied spaces. Lighting in office spaces is linked to that in notional and real corridors to ensure egress routes remain lit when the spaces are occupied.