---

Alexander Stileman of Stileman Lighting Designs looks at two projects – a gym and skin treatment clinic that has programmable lighting systems

---

Edited By: Jill Entwistle

The brief given by the client for the Core Collective Gym was quite simple: flexible, practical and non-gym like.

While the main entrance and cafe are located on the ground floor with huge windows filling the space with natural light, the basement, where all the studios and changing rooms are located, has no natural light at all and it is here where the lighting would be critical.

Having been asked to take an industrial aesthetic of the space and modernise it, we settled on the theme of multiple enamel lampshades in either long, seemingly endless lines or completely filling the ceiling with warm white cold cathode filament lamps. More than 200 pendants were used throughout the gym, and in the spinning room the pendants take centre stage across the ceiling then continue into a wall-mounted version down one elevation.

In this room the pendants were backlit with RGB+WW (red, green blue and warm white) LED strip and chrome cap LED sources used instead of the filament lamps so that all the lighting was indirect and had the ability to be dimmed down to the lowest level, another client request. The programming of the lighting system in this room is what sets it apart from most spinning experiences: 45-minute lighting sequences customised to different instructors allow for the room’s environment to change throughout the workout, starting with higher, more invigorating lighting for the warm-up period before suddenly dropping into almost total darkness. At this point the pendants are then reactivated in rows starting from the floor, working up the wall before moving across the ceiling as if building to a crescendo. Colours also change or pulse depending on the stage and intensity of the class, finishing with calm, soft, slowly pulsing lighting for the cool down and stretching.

The main gym space can be divided, so the lighting programming needed to be able to respond to the spaces being used at the same time, but for different activities

The main studio for TRX or circuit classes has a combination of RGB+WW linear LED uplighting as well as track-mounted LED spots that can accent specific equipment. Should the layout change, the lighting can be adapted to the new equipment positions. Again the room is kept quite dark during the work-out to allow people to really get involved without feeling self-conscious. It was also extremely important to use 2700K LED spots with a high CRI to help complement the customer’s skin tone and appearance.

The main studio can be divided into two, so it was important that the programming of the lighting allowed for these spaces to be used simultaneously and for different types of classes. The Crestron system was critical in achieving the complex settings requested by the client and allowed for the effective dimming of many types of light sources, as well as the DMX control for the colour-changing effects.

The changing rooms were designed to be lit sensitively for customers who had just exhausted themselves in a class. The light levels are subdued, but again the importance of using the correct colour temperature and high CRI was critical, as well as avoiding too much overhead lighting where the ceilings are quite low.

The lighting scheme was devised to motivate and then relax the gym user before re-energising them, as they sit for a coffee on the ground floor cafe before leaving.

Light therapy machines sit in the centre, behind the reception. The curved translucent glass walls that encapsulate them reveal their function, as they emit a purple light when in operation

Lighting is rather central to Canadian treatment centre Clinique D diaphane. It is not only a light therapy clinic – treating eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions – but also has highly customised and controllable lighting to vary the illumination in different zones.

The starting point was to introduce more natural light. Despite large windows facing east and south, the paediatric clinic that previously occupied the space was dark and uninspiring. The position of the waiting room in the centre with windowless examination rooms surrounding it, shut clients off from views and natural light. To exploit the large
openings, the entire office was transformed into an open-plan space with translucent elements serving different
functions within the clinic, allowing the abundant natural light to infiltrate throughout.
The six examination rooms, featuring frosted glass ceilings, form a long white wall punctuated by six high wooden doors. With an opalescent glass wall and lowered ceiling, the relaxation room for the clinic’s professionals looks like a glowing cube

To supplement the natural light, hanging WiFi LED sources can be programmed to the desired intensity and
colour for each zone. Installed 2.5m high, the fittings provide good levels of illumination while avoiding glare. Recessed
linear LEDs highlight the large wood overhang above the desk and the entire waiting room. The same type of lighting lines the reception desk to light staff work surfaces.