Palace of Westminster (Restoration & Renewal Programme)
A full interdisciplinary contract for the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, a Grade I listed landmark, aimed at securing its safe and secure long-term future.
The Brief
A full interdisciplinary contract for the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, a Grade I listed landmark, aimed at securing its safe and secure long-term future. Since its construction in the mid-1800s, many of the building's systems had never undergone major renovation, with heating, ventilation, water, drainage and electrical infrastructure remaining extremely antiquated. Following an initial programme of M&E repairs (commenced in 2009) that addressed only the most critical risks up to 2020, this phase delivered medium-term interventions to keep the Palace safe and operational, alongside detailed building-fabric investigations, a building-wide security strategy, planning for major asbestos removal, fire safety improvements, and office accommodation for approximately 950 occupants.
The Challenge
Deliver sensitive daylight and lighting interventions within a live, operational and highly constrained Grade I listed building, improving natural light and lighting performance while protecting the historic fabric and sensitive heritage collections, and balancing conservation, thermal efficiency, broadcast/AV needs, occupant comfort and stringent health & safety constraints.
What we delivered
Daylight assessments across a wide range of historic spaces, supporting architectural strategies to improve daylight penetration in sensitive heritage areas such as galleries, committee rooms and dining spaces, without compromising thermal or heritage requirements (with the Building Physics team and aligned to British Standards for office environments).
Sensitive bespoke artificial lighting solutions for key heritage interiors, evaluated against visual comfort, illuminance, energy use and broadcast requirements.
Research into emerging daylight-control and occupant-comfort technologies, and methods to protect sensitive collections (paintings, fabrics) from sunlight, working with conservation specialists, smart-glazing suppliers and lighting manufacturers on low-impact solutions.
Site surveys and off-site mock-ups to resolve installation constraints, plus high-quality technical reports and presentation material for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
As Lead Daylight Designer, I analysed the existing conditions of each space and assessed the quality of natural light, supporting the Conservation and Building Fabric architectural team in developing proposals to improve daylight penetration in sensitive heritage areas. I worked closely with the Building Physics and Occupancy/Workplace teams, developed artificial lighting solutions for heritage spaces, and proactively expanded the lighting scope across the project, including advising the Broadcast and AV team on balancing camera lighting with occupant comfort. Working within a multidisciplinary team of over 200 professionals, I contributed to stakeholder engagement, technical reporting and coordination across multiple design packages within a complex, operational historic environment.
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Let’s shape
light together.
Available for lighting design, consultancy and collaboration across the UK and internationally.