The brief for Cowane’s Hospital is to produce a flexible space capable of hosting a wide range of different activities within a significant historic building. Many of these will require different lighting moods not just changes in lighting levels. We have to provide adequate lighting for the most challenging tasks, such as meetings where people will want to read notes and write, to the most intimate of events such as evening dining or wedding receptions and parties. We also anticipate stage focused events such as music recitals where the focus needs to be on the stage and “houselights” need to be minimised during the performance.

The scheme uses a combination of modern pendant fittings to provide general lighting in the space including a higher level of lighting to the roof structure and generally to give brightness to the volume of the hall. We also include track lights that will have different functions. One group will be to provide specific lighting to the portraits, another group provides a higher lighting level across the floor area to allow for different requirements as needed for events.

A lighting control system allows a number of different pre-set scenes for typical events and also allow the users of the hall to make temporary changes to these pre-sets to accommodate specific event requirements.

Client : The Cowane’s Trust

Architect : Benjamin Tindall Architects

Photography: Colin McLean