Total Lighting - March 2016

spaces that are safe and functional,
but that will also add excitement
and drama.’
The company produced designs that
emphasise the heritage and historical
features of the spaces, aid orientation,
and create positive emotional responses
in the people who use the Underground,
and those who work there.
Nulty continued: ‘The role of the
team is to use light as a tool to make
stations fl ow better, to celebrate the
rich heritage of our London transport,
while embracing the future and
leading the way in 21st Century public
transport design.’
Blending the principles of function,
orientation, identity, visual interest,
energy, robustness, and suitability, with
creativity and contrast, the company
has created dramatic, yet user friendly
spaces that will be in line with exemplary
metro stations across the world.
‘The aim is to create an environment
that has a positive impact on the senses
and mood, and that preserves the
Underground’s status as an iconic part
of London,’ added Nulty.
Building on the Idiom’s aim to ‘bring
good design to the forefront of thinking,’
the intricate lighting approach adds
depth, texture, and drama, to create
station spaces that have impact. The
team have built up layers of light in the
design that will aid passenger fl ow and
defi ne important areas.
An important aspect of the lighting
scheme, which is currently going
through the procurement process,
was to achieve the correct balance
between luminance ratios to create
different strengths of highlights and
shadows. Historically, Underground
stations have been designed to a high
level of uniformity that places an undue
emphasis on achieving control and
regularity, which occasionally resulted in
over-lit spaces.
The lighting within the Idiom
considers the way staff and customers
move around, and how they perceive
space; critical elements to achieving this
are an increase in contrast, and a small
increase in average light levels, as well
as vertical illuminance. By overlapping
several layers of light, colour
temperatures have been introduced that
will radiate warmth across the spaces.
By moving away from the current
homogenous approach to lighting,
and replacing it with a soft ambiance,
commuter stress and fatigue should
be diminished, using light as a positive
infl uencer of mood.
Alongside engaging the senses,
the lighting clearly defi nes platform
edges, entrances, and exit points, and
www.total-lighting.com • MARCH 2016 • 51