88Walker – Exterior & Feature Lighting

The Fitzpatrick Partners designed tower cantilevers over the C.1896 Firehouse ( now a hotel) , creating an opportunity and a challenge for the designers of the interface void between the top of the heritage building and the underside of the new tower. The architects created a petal-like form to soften this interface and create a playful feature. Our role was to help develop the lit forms and the lighting to reveal all facade elements in a balanced, positive way. Energy & light spill minimization was essential and the heritage building could not be relied upon for support, or access to any installation components.

We resolved to have the forms emit light, rather than reflect light, and built lighting into the forms. Spotlights were used within the petal forms to produce strong localised light sources and direct light outputs, whilst linear light sources were used for the vertical and horizontal elements of the facade to minimise connections. In all selections, emphasis was on direct, not diffused, light sources producing directed light beams. The choice of direct light sources created challenges with locations and materials as we sought to hide the sources of light from direct or reflected view. Extensive modelling and prototyping were used.

The effect of using a coordinated direct light solution is a minimal light spill, lower energy use, and fewer lights. The light result can be easily varied, using dimming control systems and ambient light sensing, from dramatic to sophisticated, and this is made easier because the solution produces tailored shadows, drama and accents. This direct light reveals textures, shapes and finishes across all exterior elements of the facade and minimises unwanted interferences with the neighbourhood. At night the lit facade contributes positively to the streetscape and the skyline, becoming a community asset and destination. 88Walker is a true landmark.

Servicing the lighting system and the facade elements was a key consideration during the design process. The first step was to minimise the amount of lighting required to achieve design impact and this meant that in addition to the petals, horizontal elements of the lighting at only exist at five locations on the tower and two on the podium. Access to the tower lighting is relatively simple, this is achieved via a suspended building maintenance unit accessible from the roof. Because the heritage Firehouse is not part of the site, only the air space above it was acquired by Billberia for development, obtaining ongoing access to the petals on the cantilevered soffit required a custom access solution which was designed by the Fitzpatrick Partners team and comprises an integrated cables and rails system to support a ”rope access maintenance ” from below. To ensure lighting aiming and locations are maintained over the life of the building, all systems are mounted in custom brackets, many individually crafted to suit their function and effect within the facade. They blacklight signage locations, facade elements and the soffit petals. Refer to the details provided in our videos and presentations that are part of this submission.