Working in close partnership with Fidelity, Hilson Moran and AEDAS, Nulty designed a lighting solution centred around employee wellbeing for the global investment company's 108,000 square foot office space.
The office floors comprise a colourful mix of relaxed and formal working areas including collaborative and private working zones. The remaining four floors are complete with client-facing meeting rooms,lounges and two media studios for the company’s video and audio broadcast. Nulty’s final design solution was rational in its response, circumnavigating the practical lighting needs of the workplace with Fidelity’s overall vision for the day-to-day wellbeing of its employees.
On arrival in the reception area, guests are met with a linear lighting layout that serves as a recurring design motif throughout the entire building. Used elsewhere to frame meeting rooms and open planFidelity International working spaces, Nulty commissioned a bespoke light-insert designed to meet the WELL requirement and deliver a high colour rendering for enhanced visual acuity. The team used the linear concept in conjunction with adjustable surface-mounted downlights, diffusing light from both the centre and perimeter of the ceiling to create the perfect contrast ratio for day-to-day working and video conferencing.
On the fifth floor where a glass skylight has been used to bring natural light into the room, the light-insert has been incorporated into the central spine of the ceiling. The team used tunable white linear LEDs to match the outside colour temperature with the interior of the room, allowing it to be adjusted from colder lighting on a bright day to warmer lighting at sunset.
To contrast with the rectilinear design seen throughout the building, Nulty softened the aesthetic in casual breakout spaces and communal areas with copper and ceramic pendants. Decorative pendants, handcrafted by Marset, create an environment that encourages downtime and relaxation. The client-facing meeting rooms have also been given a gentler touch in some spaces, trading out the graphic linear line of light at the border of the room for a glowing circular stretch fabric feature. Vibia BIG pendants were chosen for the café area, producing a false-skylight effect in the sole pocket of the working floors where natural daylight could not be found.
The entire workplace is controlled by a DALI system, which has been pre-programmed to alternate between different scenes such as daytime meetings, video conferences and intimate evening events. The highly intuitive system dims lights during daytime hours or when rooms are not in use to reduce energy consumption across the board.
By putting employees front and centre from the outset of this project, we were able to weigh up how lighting is fundamental to wellness in the workplace. Each of the spaces underwent rigorous calculations to ensure it met strict compliance guidelines, without compromising on design or environment. The final result is a lively, colourful workplace lighting scheme, which strikes the right balance between professionalism and personal wellbeing.
K. Gillam, Senior Lighting Designer, Nulty