15th January 2009
Spitalfields market at night
The lighting in spitalfeilds market at night is really quite interesting. There is a diverse variety of techniques used; a wall with lit perspex panels which alternate in changing colours and the glass clad box covering an electrical substation are unique features and there is also strip lighting in the paving and more conventional lighting rigged in the metal rafters of the structure.
The substation is clad with glass which has engraved into it quotes and phrases from the long history of the market, with writing of Samuel Pepys, Charles Dickens and Peter Ackroyd. Encircling the box is a thin black line, a timeline of the area outlining the area's history from roman times onwards. During the day the box is white but at night it is lit from inside the box and the glass glows in several different colours which change gradually. It was designed by Imagist (design agency) and Jestico + Whiles (architects).
The wall of lighting is a screen made out of fifteen panels lit from the sides with LEDs. it glows purple orange green and blue and all the tones between.
There is also the lift shaft which is clad in panels in a very similar style to the other two lighting features in Spitalfeilds. They are Traxon Mirror 64PXL wash panels, which act like an interactive wall display.
The overall effect of the lighting in the market is really effective, the old and new apsects of the square seem to compliment each other rather than contradicting each other and the victorian feel of the market has not been lost through using modern techniques in lighting.
The lighting for the square was designed by Jestico + Whiles and Julian Harrap architects.
Link to MONDO arc (The international magazine for architectural retail and commercial lighting) website which has a GOOD article on the lighting in Spitalfeilds.
