acdc Case study: Intu Lakeside Food Hall, Essex
Intu Lakeside is a busy shopping centre set in a prime retail location just outside of London, and as you would expect the food hall is a popular destination for shoppers wishing to refuel and recharge their batteries. Situated on the third floor, the food hall area has recently been re-styled to encourage further custom, with the new design offering increased visual prominence from the second floor retail level below. Early in the design process Intu recognised that lighting would be a key aspect of creating the dynamic and vibrant atmosphere they wanted, and invited Lighting Design International (LDI) to work in collaboration with retail specialists Rawls & Co to design the scheme
Project brief The brief to LDI involved using light as a signal to draw customers up the escalators into the food court space, as well as contributing to the creation of a pleasant yet dynamic environment with plenty of visual interest. The architectural and lighting scheme set out to create a more intimate atmosphere by lowering the customers eye line away from the previously up lit glass roof structure. This was achieved by introducing crossbeams that both interrupt roof views and conceal lighting equipment. The food hall can be seen as two distinct areas. Under the glass roof there is an abundance of natural light, however under the deep soffits there is comparatively little natural light. The challenge to LDI was to use lighting techniques to balance the consequences of the architectural interventions, delivering a light and vibrant atmosphere by day, and a comfortable welcoming area during the evening and night.