Space intended for a grocery store at True North Square in downtown Winnipeg, became an opportunity for Ceridian Canada, a human resource software company, to centralize its entire Winnipeg team in an open concept, 25,000-square-foot office.
Designed pre-pandemic, the third-floor workspace combines high industrial ceilings, reclaimed wood accent walls, splashes of bright colour, and bold graphic accents. Environmental Space Planning coordinated the design and brought in KGS Group for the electrical and mechanical engineering. Lucien Lalonde, senior electrical engineer and commercial M & E department head at KGS, managed the project, including lighting design.
“General lighting was intended to be clean and seamless,” said Lalonde. “The architect did not want any visual clutter, so we utilized recessed luminaires in many areas.”
Linear luminaires from service-provider Mark Architectural Lighting were placed throughout the project, including a flush lens recessed pattern configuration in boardrooms and black pendants in open and closed offices, and more casual meeting spaces. Particular attention was paid to lighting in the meeting rooms to avoid shadowing.
The standard Lambertian distribution optics with the luminaires provided a high level of illumination in all directions. “By placing two rows over the outside long-edge of the meeting table, we were able to attain an excellent quality of light with limited shadowing,” said Lalonde.
In larger meeting rooms, secondary lighting using cylinders and wall washers, assisted with any light level contrast in the space. Cylinders are used elsewhere in the project, including corridors, the kitchen, and some lounge areas. Three elegant Aperture pendants are suspended through cutouts in a unique wooden drop ceiling over the kitchen counter.
Much of the open office area was laid out with a view to the exterior walls of windows that bring in substantial daylight. Designers placed colourful lounge chairs along the windows to host informal meetings or quiet breaks. Black acoustic baffles are suspended from the industrial ceiling above these lounge areas to manage ambient noise in the lounge and adjacent open offices. Illumination was introduced to the area with the installation of pendants between baffles. Hung at the same height and encased in black, the luminaries blend seamlessly with the aesthetic.
One of the overall design goals, and a key consideration for the lighting, was the intention that each space serves its employees in multiple ways. The kitchen might be a day-time lunch area or a reception space in the evening. A standard meeting space could be converted to a global video conference hub. Employees, therefore, needed the ability to dim and adjust lighting colour to change the mood and adapt to new situations.
Consequently, luminaires provide static white and tunable white light distribution with dimming capability. Complete with a wired digital lighting control platform, employees have control of output and colour.
Because of the substantial natural light on the floor, the system also includes daylight sensors that automatically monitor and adjust lighting output throughout the day and evening.
The energy-efficient fixtures, and options like the occupancy sensors and dimming capabilities, will significantly contribute to overall energy efficiency on the floor.
“The client is pleased with the outcome,” said Lalonde. “We were able to deliver a great lighting design, with multiple levels of lighting control to suit their needs.”
The preceding article was supplied by Mark Architectural Lighting. For more information, see the website at www.marklighting.acuitybrands.com.
