The stunning office refurbishment of 40 Eastbourne Terrace, as envisaged by architects Fletcher Priest, is set to make its mark in one of central London’s key business districts thanks to the Philips LightMaster control system.
Bringing the outside in, the clever use of glass gives a feeling of natural fluidity as office workers enter the smart reception area and a dramatic oak and steel spiral staircase enhances this sense of light and spaciousness.
Eastbourne Terrace provided leasing property developers, Land Securities, with the opportunity to offer its new tenants with over 83,000 square metres of office accommodation. As Joe Ashton, Project Manager at Land Securities explains: “We pride ourselves in providing our clients with the very best of commercial developments such as this. In today’s business environment, demands are high. To accommodate the individual needs of our tenants; open plan layouts, cellular offices, hot desking are all key, but we also have to cater for expansion and office layout changes. Adopting a lighting control system that was fully flexible was therefore essential. “
The Philips LightMaster control system has been designed to accommodate future upgrades and additions. This is a crucial factor for Land Securities when considering new office developments since clients may wish to take whole or part floors or even a mix of the two. They even have the option of hiring out additional space for meetings as and when they need it. Thus at any one time offices may be fully or partially occupied having a major implication on energy consumption costs. Little wonder then that controls play an important factor here since lighting is a significant part of the energy bill and when correctly applied can reduce energy costs by up to 30% in comparison with conventional switched lighting. The Philips LightMaster control system ensures that light is always adequate for efficient work performance but never excessive.
There are several techniques, which can be adopted when using controls. In the case of 40 Eastbourne Terrace, one of the significant aspects was to take advantage of the natural daylight which pours into the full height atrium around which the four floors of office space have been arranged. Multiple light sensors were installed around the periphery of the building measuring the amount of natural light coming in. The system automatically dims the luminaires within the area, so that a constant level of light is maintained in the working space. The luminaires can also be programmed to switch off as daylight takes over altogether.
In addition presence detection was applied whereby sensors respond to the movement of body heat within a specified zone, switching lights on or off. A time delay ensures that unwanted switching is avoided if a person is still for a period of time within the space.