Multiload,

Brodie & Stone Headquarters

Brodie & Stone Headquarters

London

Brodie & Stone is an internationally renowned company specialising in ‘problem solution’ brand creation within the personal care sector. They needed a fresh, cheerful, contemporary space in which to design and market cosmetics and meet clients. The stylish, bespoke, colourful interiors needed lighting to match the mood, with a hint of playfulness.

The Brief 

Brodie & Stone is a dynamic organisation, constantly innovating to bring new cosmetic brands to the UK and international markets. They needed a suitable environment in which to develop inspiring beauty products. The spaces were designed for daytime use as offices and occasional evening entertaining.

Amongst the challenges were the need to avoid constantly having to pull down luminaires to access transformers. The cable design for the entire installation had to be planned ahead so that, once the false plasterboard ceiling was in place, it wouldn’t be necessary to run in further cables.

Essential for the main lighting scheme were good colour rendition and reliability. Decorative coloured light boxes needed to work continuously and it had to be easy to change colours, without fiddly programming. The client wanted to be able to alter the appearance of the lighting without too much fuss. A digital system, controlling seventeen light boxes with coloured LEDs, would have been too cumbersome. So a digital system was used to set the mood of the main ceiling lighting only. The coloured light boxes themselves provided a central visual focus and had to be a joy to manipulate manually.

The Solution 

Peter Phillipson and Tim Warner of Future Group Lighting Design were the lighting designers for the project.

They chose Multiload Voltmasters to create the desired effects. The VoltMasters were located in an air-cooled main intake room and in the header section of a floor to ceiling unit. This was specially designed to command over a void, with access enabled if required. Tungsten halogen lighting enhanced compact fluorescent fittings – which were chosen to save energy. On top of this, some lighting scenes featured these fittings on their own. A stunning visual effect was created by the pure white ‘full-up’ colour of the new IRC TH lamps. These were operated at their correct voltage whilst saving 30% of the electricity that would previously have been consumed.

The colours transmitted through the LED light boxes could be altered effortlessly using Multiload’s “Unashamably Analogue” rotary potentiometers. This meant that any unit could become any colour, without the usual restrictions that apply to some potentiometers.  Brodie & Stone’s visitors would be able to play with the lighting effects endlessly, à volonté.

The client was delighted with the result, and it was featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs spin-off broadcast, Grand Designs Trade Secrets.

The Multiload rotary button 1-10V analogue controllers are reliable and suited the client’s need to alter the colour settings of the LED light boxes constantly yet simply. Voltmaster has become the default option when designing serious professional projects requiring Tungsten halogen lighting.

Peter Phillipson, Future Group Lighting Design