4 minute read
IRON AND STEEL
Liz Peck, past president of the Society of Light and Lighting, sadly passed away earlier this year at the too-young age of just 46. Here, two close colleagues reflect on her contribution to lighting design and her passion for the industry
Liz Peck was my dear friend and valued colleague, writes Bob Bohannon. Her ability to get people to volunteer was simply amazing. It was Liz who got me to join the SLL, Liz who suggested I volunteer for treasurer and again Liz who rang me to ask whether I’d consider being a future president.
About three years ago Liz rang me again: ‘How would like to light a bridge with me?’.
It was the Iron Bridge at Telford and, naturally, I jumped at the chance. Much since has been written about the bridge and its award-winning scheme, but it was challenging.
Its filigree of iron allows light from most angles to pass straight through; the gorge sides are unstable and the River Severn flood level can be 7m above normal.
Our strict brief was that we couldn’t mount luminaires on the bridge, under the bridge or cable over it or through it and any equipment had to be inconspicuous by day.
We wrote the feasibility report that determined projector sizes, lumen outputs, column sizes and costs. Then the heritage team discovered evidence that the bridge was originally painted a mahogany red-brown shade, far less reflective than the grey we had been working with.
The new colour meant we needed more lumens, all equipment would be both larger and more expensive – so started some careful negotiations. The final scheme, resilient to the floods of storms Dennis and Ciara and despite Covid-19, was switched on in September 2020.
In the last months of 2020, Liz was writing the excellent SLL Guide to Protecting the Night-time Environment, bringing it very near to completion. Liz was passionate both about architectural lighting design and protecting bats from the negative effects of light.
Looking back at our work on the Iron Bridge, the new guide could almost have formed a checklist for the project: skyglow, obtrusive light, bat flyways, fish, visitor views, extending the economic day of Ironbridge, curfews, luminance-based design, spectral reflectance and light source spectral radiation, daytime appearance, glare mitigation through positioning, aiming and louvres and finally an overall lighting impact assessment – all were included.
Bob Bohannon MSc FSLL MIET was president of the Society of Light and Lighting from 2020-21
Liz was working on the technical support desk at Concord Lighting and, following its merger with Marlin, applied for a position in the design office, writes Mike Simpson.
Neither the commute nor her lack of design experience put Liz off starting this new chapter in her career. She had a good product knowledge and a drive not to let things stand in her way.
Liz was never backward in coming forward if there was something she needed to know and quickly grasped the aspects of lighting design that would take her forward.
Gaining in confidence, she began to connect with the wider world of the lighting profession. For 10 years she helped to organise ‘Ready Steady Light’ for the SLL and it was clear she was developing a wide network of contacts in the industry as the loan ‘kit’ rolled in.
Following her move to Philips, where we worked together, her design experience widened and it was while there she undertook the UCL MSc in light and lighting to establish her credentials as an independent lighting designer.
She was soon working on many and varied projects, but the one we talked about most was the Iron Bridge. I remember one day we
JUNE 2021 LIGHTING JOURNAL 59
Liz Peck: retrospective
The Iron Bridge at Telford showing off the lighting scheme by the late Liz Peck, pictured inset. Main Iron Bridge photograph by Bob Bohannon
were discussing whether we were talking about colour or rust!
Many people will have come to know Liz as secretary of the SLL and then during her year as president when she masterminded the Night of Heritage Light.
Liz was a passionate sportsperson, both on and off the pitch, and was always at the front for a friendly game of football after a busy day at work.
Liz was an incredibly giving person and spent time supporting a local food bank, even when her health was failing. Having spoken to her just before Christmas, it was a shock to receive the news of her passing in January.
Liz was one of those characters that you meet in life who leave a mark; always with a glint in the eye but at the same time totally professional and thorough in her work. She will be missed but for sure not forgotten. • At the time of her death in January, the
ILP paid its respects to Liz Peck, which can be found at https://theilp.org.uk/ ilp-pays-tribute-to-liz-peck/. The
SLL’s obituary for Liz can be found at https://www.cibse.org/news-andpolicy/january-2021/ remembering-liz-peckfsll,-1974-2021
Mike Simpson FREng CEng FCIBSE FSLL FILP FIET is global design lead, lighting design, at Signify
STOP PRESS
It was announced in May that the Iron Bridge lighting scheme had won in the ‘Structures – low budget’ Best Exterior Lighting Scheme category in the 2020 [d]arc awards, which celebrate the best in lighting design. Look out in the July/August edition of Lighting Journal for a more in-depth look at the winners, and ILP members, whose work has been rightly recognised and celebrated.
