Fishmongers’ Hall, London, UK
A Scheduled Ancient Monument on the banks of the River Thames, Fishmonger’s Hall has been given a dramatic new lighting scheme by Light Perceptions. The designers used Lutron controls to bring the scheme to life.
Fishmongers’ Hall is the home of the Fishmongers’ Company, one of the oldest and most ancient Livery Companies of the City of London. The Hall itself is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and a significant testament to the development of commercial activity and trade regulation in the City of London. The site is a fine example of an early 19th century livery hall, is Greek Revival in style and is Grade II* Listed.
In 2019 Light Perceptions was commissioned by the Fishmongers’ Company to carry out a Strategic Review of lighting in the Hall, this followed on from the success of a new lighting installation in the Banqueting Hall carried out in 2018, which utilised a Lutron Quantum system for lighting control.
Key recommendations of the Strategic Review included the extension of the existing Lutron system to manage the lighting in many of the public areas of the Hall and has been gradually implemented over recent years with the wireless technology of Lutron’s VIVE system being used to bring pre-set dimming to the main Entrance Hall, Grand Staircase, Vestibule and the important Court Dining and Drawing Rooms.
Energy saving was a key part of Light Perceptions’ Strategic Review and significant savings have already been achieved by using occupancy sensors as part of the VIVE system to ensure that lighting levels reduced when areas are not occupied. Wireless sensors and controls have been used in many areas to ensure that these significant technical advances can be made without causing damage or intervention into the historic fabric of this important building.
Light Perceptions’ most recent work at Fishmongers was the new external lighting scheme, completed in late 2021. The installation is an important presentation of the Hall in the night-time lit environment. The Hall’s prominent position on London Bridge overlooking the River Thames, makes this one of London’s most prominent and visible external lighting schemes. Here the existing Lutron Quantum system was easily extended to control the new external fixtures, allowing subtle changes in emphasis across the south and east façades, providing manual overrides for special events and timed subtle changes at the end of the evening to comply with planning requirements.
The installation was completed just ahead of Light Perceptions’ 20th Anniversary and is one of the most prestigious and visually significant installations completed by the company in recent years. Bruce Kirk, Director, commented: “Completing the external lighting at Fishmongers on the eve of our 20th birthday was an important occasion for us. We have collaborated on several great projects inside the Hall over the last five years and this is the most visible tribute to a great working relationship.”
As Fishmongers continues to seek further energy savings and consolidation of controls across the building, the Lutron system will be able to be extended and adapted using Lutron’s Enterprise Vue as a central controller to provide the essential flexibility required for new and updated controls and BMS integration.
