Philips Lighting return to Croydon to create a total lighting solution that creates a memorable and enjoyable shopping experience for customers.
The Lighting Solution
On entering the spacious atrium customers are guided upwards through sweeping walkways by the appearance of waves of coloured light integrated within a series of glass floor tiles. Moving further through the ground floor gallery shoppers are treated to yet more colour and dynamic movement. Echoing the floor decor is a suspended 14m encircled tile feature traversing all three levels of the Centrale mall. Constructed using 18 tiles and 10 striplights colour changing effects create a stunning visual display for customers as they browse or take a leisurely break at one of the inner court cafes. Coloured lighting effects are once more recreated at the Tamworth entrance at the pivot point of the mall.
Leading the way in this new departure for retail development is St Martin’s Property Company, owners of Centrale.
“ The dynamic scene setting ability of Scenio100 allowed our initial design concept at St Martin’s to become actuality.” - Paul Saunders, building services manager states,
A total of 19 effects were programmed corresponding to the seasons. In summer, for example, a simple touch of a button instructs all the tiles to be illuminated in blue. There is even a red and green option for the festive Christmas period.
Once the colour choice has been made the operator can choose to add even more drama by instructing the tone to fade and darken thereby creating an optical wave of colour rippling through the concourse.
The mall has a total of 87 tiles all embedded with red, green and blue LED’s. Supervision and creation of the effects is carried out by long distance switching via the central controller situated in the management suite. Operation of the system is a straightforward matter of pressing the desired numbered effect on the control plates. This simplicity belies the fact that some 18,2700 programme points are hard at work creating these effects. Scenio 100, providing an exciting environment in which to shop, capably manages all this, making Centrale a place in which fashionable high street stores vie for attention.
In addition to managing the decorative tile lighting Philips was also responsible, in conjunction with N G Baily, for controlling the ambient illumination of the car park and general mall area. The time schedule facility is a benefit allowing the lighting to be switched according to opening hours. In addition costs can be saved by taking advantage of the free, natural daylight which pours into the mall. The system can automatically switch luminaires as daylight takes over altogether.
Within Croydon Centrale, Philips control systems have therefore truly come into their own providing significant energy saving reducing costs for daily running of the mall but also a visually stimulating environment for a new retail experience.