Lighting Design Award win for Piece Hall

Our Lighting design team is proud to celebrate yet another win: The Piece Hall in Halifax, UK has won the prestigious Lighting Design Award as Community and Public Realm Project of the Year for 2018

Buro Happold was honoured to receive the Lighting Design Award (LDA) for The Piece Hall. The project was one of only two UK projects to be shortlisted for this category, standing out from over 300 entries from across the world.

Awards like these really cement The Piece Hall’s place on the map as an amazing international destination. They showcase the incredible work that has gone into all aspects of the building’s transformation, and the fantastic efforts of everyone involved in securing its future.

Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader

About The Piece Hall

The Piece Hall is the oldest remaining cloth trading hall in England. 250 years after being built, it is now once again a thriving cultural and commercial centre. The public courtyard and the buildings of the Grade 1 listed site have been transformed to create a shared contemporary public space for the town of Halifax. The project is an excellent example of regeneration and re-use of a building, using a considered lighting approach that addresses conservation, function and placemaking.

The Piece Hall is run by The Piece Hall Trust, an independent charity committed to ensuring that the building is used for public benefit and that its future is sustainable. The recent transformation was made possible by funding from Calderdale Council, a generous £7 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and support from both the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Wolfson Foundation.

About our lighting design

The lighting design for the project addresses the heritage brief by revealing the volume of the space and the building elevations and materials. The selection of cool lighting within the plaza and warm lighting for the buildings reduces the scale of the plaza, making it more inviting to visitors.

BuroHappold’s design made use of reflected light, contrasting tones, hues and careful detailing in delivering this project. The narrow openings in the solid perimeter wall open into a vast courtyard with a series of beautiful colonnades, lit to reveal form and rhythm. Certain parts of the space in the centre were kept intentionally dark, with marker lights guiding a path across the flat area of the square. This showed how little light was required within the site to create a comfortable public space.

The scheme enhances the experience of visiting The Piece Hall at night, making it a beautiful place to be throughout the day and into the evening.
_{Calderdale Council}

“The lighting scheme was a significant part of the Council’s vision for the future of The Piece Hall. It was designed to be both practical and sensitive – to showcase the building’s classical structure and historical features and to illuminate the central courtyard, steps, seating and water features. The scheme enhances the experience of visiting The Piece Hall at night, making it a beautiful place to be throughout the day and into the evening.” Calderdale Council

The layered approach to lighting was chosen to emphasise the voids within the historic facde and encourage visitors to explore the space. The courtyard is lit by illuminating various architectural features and incorporating lighting into the ground. This avoids the use of lighting columns which would restrict how the space was used and wouldn’t be historically authentic. This was an important feature as the central square needed to remain flexible for markets and events.

A control system allows lighting to dim, offering various settings for temporary events. This reduces the overall energy consumption by offering a timer-controlled programme that is suitable for dusk and dawn, and takes security into consideration.

The lighting design gives presence and a strong visual identity to the historical site. The colours and placement of the lighting were chosen to enhance the depth and colour of the historic architecture. They also provide a safe and inviting environment in the hours of darkness.

“We are honoured and delighted to have won this award for the Community and Public Realm Project of the Year. It is a great recognition for what we all work towards in the Buro Happold specialist lighting team: transforming spaces through light to make the public realm more accessible and enjoyable for all. The Piece Hall has been a fantastic project to work on, working closely with LDN Architects and Gillespies we created a beautifully-integrated lighting solution that enhances the architectural heritage and reveals its historical importance at nightfall.” Amy Rennie, Senior Lighting Designer