Lighting in Design

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tions that form a large part of the function of the
building. Campbell explains that a horizontal bar is
incorporated within the frame, fromwhich artwork
used in the various presentations can hang. LED
drivers and LED strips of soft light are installed
within the steel frame and the LED lights allow the
artworks to speak for themselves. The exhibition
halls have both general and exhibition lights that
can be switched on individually. In general, the soft
focused light is atmospheric.
Where the steel frame was not appropriate,
lighting has been cleverly incorporated by custom
designed light fittings from Dokter and Misses
onto the conduit round boxes. Wooden caps on
the heads tie in with the wooden floors and the
compact fluorescent freestanding elements light
top and bottom.
The reception area has a vaulted ceiling which is
accented with soft light. When the team designed
the lighting for the roof, they intended to show
its imperfections as well as its charms. Spotlights
are mounted at what were partially existing points
at the apex of the arch to prevent glare, placing a
night time accent onto the walls opposite. A num-
ber of spots have been placed in the air shafts for
further effect.
A South African indigenous hard wood was used
for all the flooring and Viegas specified warm light
throughout to highlight the colour of the timber and
to create a softened and inviting space.
Intensifying the emotion attached to the building,
glass panels expose ‘time-worn’ steps in the bigger
exhibition room showing the age of the structure
and giving the visitor a sense of the number of
prisoners who walked up and down those steps
over the years. In the same room, an old toilet and
graffiti are reminiscent of the purpose that the
building once served.
In the two smaller rooms the space just beneath
the window is dark, creating an area of high con-
trast. To break the contrast, the lights have been
installed opposite the window to provide full light
while, in the corridor, bursts of light break the mo-
notony of the passage and at the same time make
a feature of the conduit.
The finished project achieves its goal. Visitors
cannot fail to gain an understanding of what it
must have felt like to walk into the cold and dank
prison reception area. However, with the exhibi-
tions in place there is a definite sense of positivity
at what we have managed as a country to achieve
since 1994.
“The challenge,” concludes Campbell, “was
to establish a balance between being sensitive
to the heritage while allowing something new to
take place. We feel we attained this by inserting
something new into an obviously very old fabric.
The result, we believe, is good and visitors do not
lose sense of what it was like to be here”.
References:
The Heritage Portal:
History and heritage: South Africa’s Constitution
Hill:
9 LiD 11-12/14