A lighting scheme that represents the values of Ashurst London HQ

Law firm Ashurst has just moved into their new London headquarters next to the historic Spitalfields market in the newly rebuilt London Fruit and Wool Exchange building. Light Bureau was involved in developing a lighting scheme for the client-facing and conference areas on the ground and the 4th floor to help create a welcoming and professional environment, representing the values and status of Ashurst.

Light Bureau’s lighting approach was developed in close collaboration with the project’s interior designer, ID:SR, and strives to softly enhance the measured and sophisticated materiality, to create spaces that are professional, warm, and truly comfortable to be in. We have achieved this by using soft and diffuse light to gently illuminate and enhance the key feature finishes, such as timber panelling, stone, and metal mesh. This approach is extended throughout all client-facing areas to create a familiarity that guides visitors towards their destination and creates soft ambient brightness in meeting and conference spaces. Illumination of feature material elevations has also helped with revealing the curated art collection, which is exhibited along all circulation spaces and lounges, accentuating and revealing these paintings and sculptures as objects of significance.

One of the key areas included in Light Bureau scope is the Forum, an area dedicated to larger gatherings, conferences, and staff training. The main feature of the Forum is the large, circular illuminated ceiling punctuating the informal café area and creating a bright and active environment in which to interact and recharge. The ceiling feature incorporates dynamic backlighting to transform the space for evening events by creating a warmer and more subdued environment for relaxed interaction.

The meeting, conference and seminar rooms throughout both floors utilise a simple yet elegant task lighting approach with custom ceiling channels containing all lighting and most room services minimally and discretely. By not using proprietary channel solutions but incorporating simple metal channels into ceiling build-up we were able to make light fittings an inherent and more seamless part of the ceiling plane, perfectly matching the channel configuration and appearance to each application, while at the same time decluttering the rest of the ceiling from individual services elements.

Architect: Bennetts Associates
Client: Ashurst
Contractor: Structuretone
Developer: Exemplar
Interior Architect: ID:SR