Bigg Design, working alongside Lightfolio, designed the illumination for the newly renovated Town House in Inverness.
After an extensive £4m renovation project, the lighting was the jewel in the crown and not only brings this impressive building to life but also creates a wonderful gateway to the foot of Inverness High Street, the museum and Castle beyond.
Overall, a respectful approach was taken for illuminating this stately building with the use of discreet warm white lighting carefully placed to reveal architectural details to their full. The specification of high-efficiency LEDs with excellent colour rendering capabilities has brought out the most natural stone colouration with minimal energy use.
Bigg Design, working alongside Lightfolio and for The Highland Council, designed the illumination for the newly renovated Town House in Inverness.
After an extensive £4m renovation project, the new lighting scheme brings this impressive building and its new stonework to life, creating a wonderful gateway to the High Street, the museum and castle beyond.
Careful attention was paid to revealing the fantastic architectural details this building possesses. Powerful in-ground uplighters flood the facade with light, emphasising the arches, entrance and abundance of stonework detailing. Linear lights wash the new slate roof with a cooler, contrasting tone of light, whilst the upper balustrade and turret apertures are back lit with light and the illuminated spire and flagpole draw the eye upwards to reveal the entirety of the building.
The specification of high-efficiency LEDs with excellent colour rendering capabilities has brought out the most natural stone colouration with minimal energy use.
Using the latest fittings enables full colour control so on special occasions and seasons the building can be lit accordingly. Working with Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael and Highland Council, a fairytale combination of pinks and golds was chosen for the lighting’s festive debut. Armistice Day saw the Town House treated with Poppy Reds, whilst St Andrew’s Day will have blues and whites, Halloween spooky purples, greens and oranges and every other major calendar event will have it’s own pre-programmed lighting scheme that triggers automatically on that date. This provides a hugely flexible and endlessly interesting asset for Inverness with the Town House radically changing its appearance throughout the year.
Internally, the Main Hall, used for a wide variety of civic functions, also received a sophisticated lighting scheme to coincide with a full interior renovation. The grand chandeliers were painstakingly refurbished and fitted with high colour rendering LEDs that reinstate the wonderful sparkle of the crystal. The marvellous ceiling has been revealed with uplighting, whilst a mixture of discreet downlights adapt the floor and stage to suit different scenarios from weddings to lectures. The windows have been up-lit with colour-changing LEDs that can dramatically alter the look and feel of the room, as well as co-ordinating with the exterior lighting scheme. The whole room can be instantly and intuitively controlled via an iPad app.
The switch-on event had a great turn-out with a piping band and torch-lit procession winding down the High Street to culminate in a count-down and grand-unveiling of the lighting scheme.