E9 London Fields

This is a lighting project which I was asked to project manage and design by an East London-based client. It's a victorian warehouse conversion apartment in London Fields which is spread over two levels with a central staircase linking the two floors.

(Image: Livingroom pendant globe lights in brass and opaque finish with navy braided flex).

Initially this involved a sit-down discussion and a walk around of the warehouse, defining the use of the spaces within the apartment and looking at natural lighting levels within each space for different times of the day. It became clear that the existing false ceiling and downlighting didn't work for the client. It didn't reflect the architecture of the building and it was also expensive to power.

It was evident that lighting zones needed to be implemented in order to provide versatility for each space. By exposing the original concrete ceiling we benefited from adding texture and added height, but it also meant the darker concrete ceiling had to be taken into consideration when calculating lighting levels for each zone.

(Image: Bespoke galvanised steel wall lights run throughout the upper floor)

1. Bespoke wall lights in galvanised steel are featured on the upper floor. These wall lights were designed by myself and the client because, quite simply, there wasn't a pre-designed product available in this style or scale to suit the space. They produce a wonderful deflected light in 360 degrees on the walls.

(Image: Flos stairwell chandelier)

2. This bespoke Flos stairwell chandelier is fitted to a flush ceiling rose above. They hang in the central stairwell and softly light the images that hang on the walls. The lighting here is dimmable so that, if needs be, they can be brighter.

(Image: Dining and kitchen braided flex and steel pendants)

3. The dining and kitchen braided pendants hang from a steel 'T' bar structure which is finished in matt black. The concept behind this is to again give flexibility to the space. I designed this structure to hang from the concrete ceiling and specified longer lengths of braided flex so that the steel disc pendants can be raised and lowered to suit the occasion. The kitchen and dining area are both dimmable zones. The client uses this space to cook, entertain and often works at the dining table during the day, so the space had to be lit for various uses and be able to offer different lighting levels.

(Image: Dining braided flex and steel pendants)

4. In the kitchen the under-cabinet kitchen lights were older halogen units that were far too bright, their harshness just created shadows everywhere which isn't ideal when cutting and organising food prep on the worktop. I specified slightly warmer and lower output LED flexi-strip lighting which now makes food prep a more enjoyable task.

(Image: Livingroom wall lights for atmospheric mood lighting)

5. The livingroom wall lights are a shop-bought item sourced online. They have a great matt black metal finish that suits the building and the client's aesthetic. The wall lights in this area are not meant for performing any tasks other than to create an extra layer of ambient mood lighting in the evening. They are dimmable but with a max output of 40w each, meaning they can be turned right down for exceptionally soft and mellow light.

(Image: Livingroom overhead brass and opaque glass pendants)

6. These livingroom overhead pendants were sourced from Switzerland. They are beautifully simple with opaque glass globe shades and simple brass fittings. We altered four of them to have the same braided fabric cord as the dining and kitchen lights. These are again dimmable in order to provide flexibility from day to evening lighting.

For more information please contact Rory at rory@roryrobertson.co.uk

Photography: Alexander Edwards

Lighting design and styling: Rory Robertson