WAITROSE

The King’s Cross area has undergone an extensive redevelopment in recent years and part of this is the conversion of a grade II listed goods shed behind Kings Cross station into a food retail store and cookery school by Waitrose.

From a lighting design point of view, the challenges with the site were manyfold. Consideration had to be given to lighting the interior space in a way that not only complemented the building structure and period features but did not detract from the produce on sale. The lighting also had to comply with the demands of Heritage Architecture whilst at the same time meeting the most recent building regulations in terms of energy and achieve a BREEAM rating of “very good”. On top of this the lighting had to have a traditional feel to it whilst using the latest LED technology.

Ambient lighting is provided by high level continuous linear LED luminaires and high-bay luminaires with optics that provide good vertical illuminance to shelving and displays. The high level lighting was designed in such a way that it blended in with the cast iron roof structure. Over more specialised retail areas such as Fruit and Veg and Health and Beauty the linear system is dropped down to a lower level creating a more intimate lit space.

Over customer service counters and around the wine bar and grazing areas, pendant lights with a more traditional feel were used. One particular design choice that really connects the building with the past was the use of Kilner Jars with LED lamps fitted in recognition of the building’s heritage.