Lighting today_Bukit Timah Tua Pek Kong Temple Feature

lighting today

APRIL - JUNE 2015

Lighting Up a Place of Worship

The

Tua Pek Kong Temple Bukit T imah, Singapore

by Light Collab

ISSUE TWO APRIL - JUNE 2015 MCI (P) 020/05/2014 ISSN 2345-7147 (Print) and ISSN 2345-7155 (E-periodical)

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Tua Pek Kong Temple Bukit T imah, Singapore

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Architectural Design: SPORES_Studio Project Manager: SPORES_Studio Structural Engineer: KKC Consultancy Services Lighting Consultant: Light Collab Main Contractor: ID Mission Photography: N.D Photography

T

he transformation of an existing open courtyard into a semi-enclosed prayer space is at the heart of SPORES_ Studio’s additions and alterations to the Bukit Timah Tua Pek Kong Temple in Singapore. In this project, SPORES_ Studio innovatively fulfilled the client’s brief of providing additional prayer space through fundamental rethinking and reconfiguring of the existing congested circulation routes.

By introducing a frameless glazed canopy over an existing open courtyard, SPORES_Studio’s inspired approach introduced a new all-weather prayer space spanning from the main building to the temple’s front entrance archway. The existing courtyard’s floor level is further raised to allow direct

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access to the rest of the temple. This decision removed previous awkward and jarring changes in level and allows for the first time easy wheelchair access across the entire temple premise.

The glazed canopy, which is the highlight of the project, is an intricately detailed roof designed jointly by SPORES_Studio, structural engineer KKC Consultancy Services and the main contractor. To ensure devotees retain visual connectivity between the new prayer area and the sky, SPORES_ Studio proposed for the new canopy to be conceived entirely out of glazed structural system. Using Low-E self -cleaning glass for both the canopies and structural beams, high level of transparency is achieved while reducing solar gain and maintenance. The new canopy is also designed as a two-tiered system to encourage natural ventilation while negotiating complex interfacing between the new and old roof.

As part of the refurbishment, SPORES_ Studio also collaborated with lighting design firm Light Collab to design and improve the overall lighting system of the temple. Prior to the improvement works, there was no faรงade lighting and the temple disappeared into darkness in the night time. Existing luminaires had poor optics and using compact fluorescent lamps made the architecture and spaces rather flat. The internal prayer hall was also very dim and did not really highlight the double volume space of the inner prayer hall. Careful selections of good luminaires with efficient LED and optics established the temple as a night time

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landmark in the midst of the urban bustle in Upper Bukit Timah Road. Although more fittings were introduced, the overall energy consumption did not increase significantly.

Further introduction of sensitive and subtle lighting systems help to enhance the architectural spatial quality of the temple; celebrating and revealing the forms, textures, colours and motifs of the temple.

Tiered roof forms are carefully lit up with asymmetric LED linear uplighters from LUCI so that the architectural roof form can be seen from street level and from afar. To enhance the vividness of the red columns, double-emission LED uplighters from LAMP Lighting with 2700K and good colour rendering were used and further enhances the warmth of the temple.

Some of the challenges faced include convincing the client to mount the fittings on high level which would not be accessible easily unless scaffolding is used. As it is rather expensive to erect scaffolding to maintain fittings, it is important that the lighting system invested is durable and will be lasting. As it is an existing building, it is rather challenging to run wiring and to conceal them neatly so that the beautiful architecture would not be ruined by unsightly cables and remote LED drivers.

The overall result was very satisfactory and the investment for good lighting design not just brings out the aesthetics of the architecture, but also provides effective use of energy. It is definitely worth doing it right the first time.

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