Holophane fits with Monkseaton School's rhythm

Holophane has supplied Prismatron dimmable high bay luminaires and a section of exterior fittings from its Denver family to the innovatively designed Monkseaton High School is North Tyneside. Flexibility and energy efficiency were key features in the selection of Holophane fittings by consulting engineers Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Monkseaton High School is an awe-inspiring new building that brings together innovation, design, sustainability and cost-effectiveness to create a truly unique learning environment for the school's 900 students. The building is an oval shape with a 22m high sports hall at the centre, surrounded by teaching and other areas. In order to achieve the required lighting levels, therefore, it was necessary to use high bay lighting mounted at heights of between 16m and 20m.

"A further challenge was that it was necessary to be able to dim the high bay lighting to meet the head teacher's desire to alter lighting levels during the day," recalled Parsons Brinckerhoff's Alan Ranson. "This strategy was developed in the light of recent research showing that teenagers have different circadian rhythms to adults and are more lethargic and listless in the mornings.

"Consequently, the luminaires are dimmed most of the time to give an illuminance of around 300-500 lux in teaching areas, but during the first couple of hours of the teaching day these are ramped up to give 1000 lux. Lux levels are also elevated during examinations," he explained.

Holophane's Prismatron high bay luminaires proved ideal for the project, delivering the required flexibility while also optimising energy efficiency. "Having assessed Holophane luminaires against other manufacturers on previous school projects we knew that they would deliver up to 20% energy savings compared to competing products," Alan Ranson added.

In addition to the interior lighting, Holophane supplied a range of luminaires from the Denver family for exterior lighting, complementing the oval shape of the building itself. Located on footpaths, access roads, the school entrance and the building perimeter, different models were selected to optimise light distribution and energy performance in each area. These included Denver Pole, Denver Max, Denver Bollards and Denver Wall fittings, all fitted with metal halide light sources.

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