155
light + TECH
LANDING
LIGHTS
WORDS BY
JILL ENTWHISTLE
We take a look at the newly
revamped Terminal 2 at
Heathrow Airport, and how
new lighting is a key
ingredient in creating
a successful space
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LIGHT + TECH 157
PROJECT INFORMATION
Terminal 2
Client
Heathrow Airport
Lighting design (concept
and phase one scheme) and
daylight analysis
Hoare Lea Lighting
Lighting design (phase two
scheme, production and
commissioning)
StudioFRACTAL
Masterplanning and concept
architect
Foster and Partners
Concept and lead architect
Luis Vidal and Partners
Fit-out architect and
product designer
Pascall and Watson
Retail masterplan architect
The Design Solution
Luxury retail designer
Chapman Taylor
Concept structural engineer
Arup
MEP engineer, fire strategy
engineer, acoustic
consultant, vertical
transportation consultant
Hoare Lea
Civil engineer and ASIAD
consultant
TPS
Above General circulation in T2
gets its own treatment
Below Baggage claim is a good
example of how specially selected
lighting is used to support intuitive
passenger wayfinding.
Even for those of us of not especially
lofty stature there were bits of the old T2
that were oppressively low-ceilinged and
murky. The transformation brought about
by the £2.5bn revamp is therefore even
more marked. Light, both natural and
electric, plays a fundamental role in lifting
both the space itself and, hopefully, the
spirits of the travel-jaded passenger.
The objective from the beginning was
to make light a key ingredient in the overall
terminal design. To this end architecture
practice LVA planned a complex, undulating
roof system with integrated rooflights,
backlighting and a translucent ceiling
membrane. It traces the main parts of the
passenger journey through T2’s 54,000 sq
m – check-in, security, lounge, boarding –
where the height increases compared to the
transitional spaces and provides both
natural and artificial light.
Hoare Lea Lighting produced the
terminal’s initial lighting designs and was
also responsible for the terminal daylight
analysis. StudioFRACTAL took over when
HLL’s contract ended, replanning the
lighting to suit client-led modifications and
ensure a cohesive lighting approach across
the individual project elements.
‘The aim was to ensure that the terminal
looks great under both natural and electric
light,’ says Hoare Lea Lighting partner
Dominic Meyrick. ‘Linear LED luminaires
integrated into the lower lip of the roof
section provide backlighting to the edge
of the membrane. This mimics and
supplements daylight, and ensures
a harmonious transition between areas
of different brightness. The result is an
integrated lighting solution, which works
intuitively with the architecture, and
accentuates the form of the ceiling.’
Facing north, the continuous rooflights
ensure a consistent level of high-quality
natural light throughout, while the clerestory
design provides generous views of the sky.
The colour-changing artificial lighting
system complements and reinforces the
natural light. Controlled by automatic timers
and photocells – the backlit system operates
only when exterior daylight conditions at
dawn and dusk fall low enough – the RGB
LED roof lighting is linked to external sky
conditions, subtly changing colour during
terminal opening hours. The rolling waves
of soft colour reduce the contrast from the
daylight, provide a subtle but reassuring link
to the outside world and create a striking
backdrop for the entire departures level.
‘Lighting this element was complicated
by the geometry of the roof system,’ says
Tim Downey, senior partner of lighting
consultant StudioFRACTAL.
The lighting equipment, and associated
bracket and diffuser assembly, had to be
positioned within the roof void directly
under the rooflights – but also had to be
concealed so that only the overall lighting
effect was visible. ‘All elements needed to
be sufficiently adjustable to accommodate
Structural engineer (scheme
and production)
Merebrook
Principal contractor
HETCo
Car park and covered court
Client
Heathrow Airport
Lighting design
StudioFRACTAL
Concept architect (MSCP2)
Gibberds
Concept architect (covered
court)
AHR/Grimshaw
MSCP2 and covered court
lead architect
AHR
Information design and
wayfinding
Space Agency/D2 Design
Landscape design,
CTA masterplan
HED
Landscape design (scheme)
Grontjmi
Landscape design (production)
AHR (landscape)
Structural, civil, MEP and
acoustic engineer
Buro Happold
Principal contractor
Laing O’Rouke
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158 LIGHT + TECH
Lighting suppliers and products
Main terminal
MSCP and covered court
High-level metal halide
projectors to main
departures level
Sill Lighting
K-Light Wayfinder LED
balustrade lighting to
external central court
Kemps Lighting
Philips Color Kinetics
ColorGraze LED lighting to
fabric soffit and other
coloured accents; Pharos
LPC controls for LED lighting
to fabric soffit
Architainment
T2 LED column-mounted
projectors to passenger
drop-off area
iGuzzini
VarioLED and Phobos
low-level LED skirt lighting
details to feature elements
LED Linear
iN 30 low-level lighting to
internal stairs and task lighting
iGuzzini
Surface-mounted compact
fluorescent and metal halide
downlights for general
ambient lighting and C50
linear wallwash lighting
Glamox
FXD/CP downlights and
custom desk-mounted
task light for low-level
lighting to desks
Mike Stoane Lighting
the undulating curvature of the roof, but
also provide access for maintenance and
removal if required,’ Downey explains.
‘Given the roof geometry, the lighting also
had to...suit each individual roof bay
without emphasising the roof structure.’
After testing design options in the
full-size roof bay constructed offsite, the
solution was a series of some 2,000
bespoke, adjustable mounting brackets
and ‘shelf’ diffuser assemblies. These carry
the RGB lighting systems within the roof
voids, but also allow the fittings to be
pulled up out of the void for maintenance.
A bespoke lighting program was created
for the system, and by significantly
underrunning the LED lighting components
it will have an estimated life of more than
30 years.
Replanning the lighting for all the
terminal interiors involved working closely
with fit-out architecture practice Pascall
and Watson. ‘The strategy was to
complement the roof feature, deliver
consistency in appearance to all the
internal building elements and ensure
the most efficient installation was
coordinated with a wide variety of
architectural, structural and associated
building services,’ says Downey. ‘The
relationship between lighting and the
materials palette was carefully mapped.
Construction-quality lighting details
were produced to ensure consistency
in installation and lighting effects.’
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Although delivered through a separate
design and construction contract,
StudioFRACTAL also designed the car park
and central covered court lighting as part
of the overall lighting strategy. Departing
and arriving passengers are greeted with
an impressive expanse in the covered
court, the centrepiece of which is the huge
permanent sculpture Slipstream by artist
Richard Wilson. Longer than an A380
airbus, it’s constructed from riveted
aluminium on a wooden frame.
Collaborating with AEDAS,
StudioFRACTAL found this area presented
a major lighting challenge. ‘Given the
importance of the sculptural centerpiece,
looking up into overhead lighting would
have been a distraction,’ says Downey.
Instead, the lighting design team devised
an LED system built into the balustrade
supports, incorporating varying optics
to satisfy a variety of lighting requirements.
Working with Wilson, StudioFRACTAL
concentrated small amounts of light
on to the more ‘active’ areas of the
sculpture, underlining the sinuous motion
and sheer materiality of the piece.
‘By day, the undulating rooflights bathe
the sculpture in strong daylight, conveying
speed, strength and solidity,’ says Downey.
‘As night falls, the subtly changing roof
colours create an atmospheric setting,
complementing the sinuous rolling forms
and lending the sculpture a softer, more
graceful appearance.’
Rail 66 with metal halide
projectors for spotlighting
to artwork
WE-EF
M125 linear wallwash lighting
Selux
Surface-mounted compact
fluorescent and metal halide
downlights for general
ambient lighting
Glamox
Ecosense Lighting linear
HP EXT low-level LED
wallwash lighting to base
of granite seating
Architainment
K-Light Master 55 and K-Light
Profile LED wallwash lighting
Kemps Lighting
Left Ceiling details. A series of
some 2,00 bespoke, adjustable
mounting brackets and ‘shelf’
diffuser assemblies were installed
Daylighting T2
‘The challenge was to design
the roof to provide adequate,
low-glare daylight to the
terminal concourse, while
minimising solar gains,’ says
Hoare Lea Lighting partner
Dominick Meyrick.
Being north-facing, the
rooflights capture light while
blocking direct sunlight.
They increase in height to
denote significant passenger
points and are reduced in
transitional spaces along the
east-west section. Various
configurations were
considered, but daylight and
thermal building simulations
done by HLL showed many
options were likely to cause
problems, including visual
discomfort and solar gain.
Parametric studies
helped define the optimum
shape and opening of the
rooflights. The team’s 3D
mountain plots and sections
revealed how daylight levels
changed in the space.
‘Spatial distribution of
daylight factors in the
terminal is not uniform, but
follows the rhythm of the
north lights,’ says Meyrick.
The roof shape was modified
accordingly to ensure
daylight factors are always
above the desired two per
cent in the major zones.
To verify the accuracy of
the daylight simulations,
an architectural model
was commissioned and
measurements, photographs
and videos were made.
Energy efficiency
Heathrow’s new £2.5bn
Terminal 2 – also known as
the Queen’s Terminal – has
taken six years to complete.
It will be home to 22 Star
Alliance airlines and will
accommodate 20 million
passengers a year.
Sustainability was the
guiding principle of its
design and construction,
and it will be one of the
world’s most efficient
air-travel facilities,
producing 40 per cent less
carbon-dioxide emissions
through extensive natural
lighting, LED technology,
and energy-generation
technology, including
photovoltaic cells and a new
biomass fuel energy centre.
19/08/2014 10:50