STEPHEN HAWKING CENTRE, PERIMETER INSTITUTE FOR THEORETICAL PHYSICS (EXPANSION)

Lighting supported the architectural theme of random patterns to connote a departure from traditional thinking and approach. The new wing’s angular geometry defies regularity and rectilinear spaces.

The SHC boasts over 120,000 square feet of open atrium, black-board lined offices, casual interaction spaces, formal conference and seminar rooms and a bistro meeting space.  Many of the spaces lacked level ceilings for mounting fixtures.

Blackboards lined hallways and classroom walls, all of which needed comfortable task lighting, however most of these informal work areas lacked level ceilings for mounting fixtures.  The solution was to use wall mounted 2” profile T5 luminaries above the work surfaces. In lecture halls with level ceiling surfaces high performance wall washers concealed in slots long the walls were used.

For conference, seminar rooms and feature spaces with sloped ceilings the solution was to integrate luminaires into elegant recessed slots.

The SHC has substantial natural lighting throughout.  General daylighting in the atrium space was supplemented with custom linear extruded luminaires suspended along the top of the space as well as lighting integrated into the underside of various mezzanines and stepped ceiling soffits that cross the atrium- here LED step and marker lights were used.

Integration of the lighting within the sloped ceilings and angled walls as well as large open atriums was the key challenge for the MBII Lighting design team.  Surface luminaries were integrated into recessed architectural slots as opposed to using traditional recessed fixtures.