Hay's Galleria

Background

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Hay’s Galleria, named after the original owner Alexander Hay in the mid-17th century, was originally a busy wharf on the river Thames in central London. Since then it has changed its use many times and is now an impressive Grade II listed mixed-use building containing warehouse style, Grade A office space, high-end retail outlets and residential premises. The Galleria’s striking architecture is noticeable for the very tall, arched, glazed roof. Most of the recent development on the site occurred in the late 1980s and nowadays, with its panoramic views over the Thames and its proximity to Southwark Cathedral it is both a popular tourist destination and a hub of commercial activity.

Challenges

WHAT WAS INVOLVED

The highbay luminaires which used to provide the ambient background lighting had been in use for many years and replacement of the HID lamps was both expensive and required special access equipment.A longer lasting light source was required but the luminaire had to be able to blend in with the industrial heritage but have a modern aesthetic. It also had to be powerful, have narrow beam optics to avoid any possible glare at ground level and produce a soft, comfortable illumination. 

The Solution

HOW WE ACHIEVED THE RESULT

At this stage, it was decided that the Galleria should be illuminated using the new Holophane Prismpack. Whilst normally used in industrial situations, the client chose the Prismpack because of its flexibility, wide range of lumen packages and beam options and the aesthetics of the architectural steelwork used in the canopy. This recently launched version of the IP65 Prismpack is available in a range of sizes that can deliver from 10,000 lumens to over 120,000 lm. This is achieved by combining a single LED module (up to 20,000 lm each) in groups of one to six. For the Galleria, the single-module, 20,000 lumens, version was used.
In keeping with the retail and leisure activities in the space, this version of the Prismpack has a colour rendering greater than CRI 80 and a Neutral 4000K appearance. One of the key benefits of the new Prismpack is the Optimax optical system. This has miniature, facetted, specular aluminium reflectors within a low-iron (for maximum light transmittance) glass lens. The LEDs themselves are set deep in the Optimax reflector thus avoiding any chance of a direct view of the source. To punch the light down to ground level from the 19-metre-high glazed roof, a narrow beam version of the Prismpack was used with a cut-off at approximately 30 degrees. The result is an almost glare free installation with excellent uniformity.

One extra benefit of the Prismpack that may not be immediately obvious is that it is designed so that essential components are easily replaceable.  For example, the drivers can be replaced in situ. This feature prolongs the usable life of the installation and is in keeping with the move towards a circular economy. The rated life of the LED module used in the Haloprism is over 100,000 hours at L70B50. Therefore, there are additional savings in lamp replacement and maintenance costs. A total of 30 Prismpacks were used in the installation. These were painted black to blend in with the other architectural steelwork. The installation at Hay’s Galleria was undertaken by Meridian Electrical Contracting Ltd.