Faculty of Advocates Law Room
Location: Edinburgh
Client: Library Services Scotland

The Faculty of Advocates Law room in Edinburgh was substantially refurbished recently and the client requested that lighting be considered carefully as the existing system although in keeping with the character of the library, was largely ineffective.

Lightfolio were engaged to design an entirely new lighting system that remained in keeping with the character of the library, was acceptable to the local planning department and client, yet delivered cutting edge performance and protection for the valuable books and manuscripts that are stored there.

It was decided that the library should be modelled in 3D and extensive desk based lighting trials were carried out to determine the suitability of fittings in terms of their vertical and horiziontal performance. The furniture and desk layout was also modelled to allow more accurate predictions to be drawn as to how light would fall onto surfaces and to determine how luminaires should be incorporated into furniture.

All luminaires fixed to and concealed beneath the desks have dimmer controls built in for precise and individual control, (advocates can spend many hours reading) to allow the creation of as comfortable an environment as possible.

Fittings from Canada and Germany were selected for the project along with special Ultra Violet filters. Many of the fittings were hand painted by specialists to match existing wood finishes or metalwork within the historic library.