Brief
With Christmas fast approaching, Spitalfields Estate wanted to install a festive and creative placemaking concept that would suit the modern and contemporary aesthetic of the Estate.
Parallel to the space is Old Spitalfields Market. Each year, the hall in the market is adorned with traditional decorations, including giant wreaths and warm festive lighting.
Whilst this design matches the rich history, New Spitalfields Market looks towards the future; championing new retailers, as well as up-and-coming brands and independent businesses.
The Estate wanted a scheme that brought festive lighting to the space, but would still fit with the aesthetic post-Christmas – serving as a timeless, permanent, public realm placemaking investment.
What we did
We installed a permanent site wide lighting scheme across New Spitalfields Estate, focusing on its three central areas; Lamb Street, Market Street and Crispin Place.
When initially working on our concept, we wanted the design to be timeless, modern, and versatile. It needed to compliment the existing architecture and lighting in place but also be bold and vibrant enough to stand out.
The ‘hero moment’ was featured along Market Street and consisted of 36 larger than life light bulbs that could display an array of different colours and shades. For Crispin Place and the recently developed and pedestrianised Lamb Street, we installed 31 down lights which were attached to the existing structural columns, ensuring that all colours could be programmed to match, and creating a cohesive design across the whole Estate.
As these lights were a long-term investment, a key objective was to ensure their design could discreetly fit within the existing structure in between seasonal schemes. Each down light had a bespoke bracket fitted and powder coated to match the colour of the columns and the oversized light bulbs were designed to look like an art installation even when the lights were off.
This simple but effective design was also programmed to only be on during the opening hours of the market, saving on power consumption and costs. The aim was to draw visitors to the market – encouraging interaction with the stalls and tenants, increasing their dwell time and boosting Spitalfields Estate’s social media presence.
Deliverables
Concept Visualisation: creating and visualising the overarching design for the whole site in 3D format.
Supplier & client Liaison: liaising between the client, their on-site team and our supplier throughout the project including various site visits.
Production Management: developing a budget, producing a detailed production schedule for the install and supplying the appropriate documentation before accessing site.
