One of the winners of excellence awards at this year’s IALD awards is Limerick House spa project in the British Isles by UK lighting designers. The project is contemporary and new build and impeccable example of the ultimate goal of lighting design.

Key facts

Project: Limerick House spa
Lighting Design: Lighting Design International
Architect: Carmody Groarke
Suppliers: ACDC, Philips Color Kinetics, Philips, LightGraphix, Lucent Lighting, Cube Lighting, John Cullen Lighting, Universal Fibre Optics, Kreon, Mike Stoane Lighting

Project description

The aim was to transform a newly carved out basement in a private residence into a series of coherent spaces and, being a spa, create a sense of calm and tranquillity. Viewing the light effect and not the source is central to this scheme, which takes great pains to conceal the technology with clever detailing and coordination.

The most dramatic space is the pool, clad with black Sicilian Basaltina, where stone, water and light are brought together as a harmonious whole.

At one end, a concealed skylight provides natural light. At night, linear halogen takes over reflecting light across the space and accentuating the sculptural form of the glass-reinforced gypsum (GRG) ceiling.

The jagged perimeter of the pool conceals two different indirect sources, providing almost all high-level light to the space to keep the sculptural ceiling clean. These sources bounce light down the walls and delineate the sharp peaks and dips of the perimeter with a distinct line. Cold cathode in a crisp, mid-white (3500K) lights the space by day, while colour-variable LEDs provide a warm white glow or dramatic colours at other times.

The pool itself is lit from two sides by banks of narrow beam, cool white LEDs to complement the blue water (because of the raise and lower pool floor, these fittings are installed 200mm below the water’s surface so cabling and maintenance can be done through the pool’s overflow channel with specialist detailing).

With underwater lighting switched off, the dark pool becomes like a mirror reflecting the ceiling feature and handrail. GRAHAM ROLLINS, LDI: ‘We wanted to create a minimal modern environment that exudes a sense of total peace and clarity, without limiting its potential for dramatic personality or welcoming warmth. The lack of visible light fittings in the pool allows the forms and materials to express themselves, while the colour-variable LEDs allowed us to shape the space’s mood and ambience.’

The IALD Awards are organised by the International Association of Lighting Designers. Go to www.iald.org  to download a PDF catalogue of all the winning projects.