Waterside living with sustainable lighting

Nowadays, when new residential developments are planned, high demands are rightly placed on environmental compatibility. One element of the sustainable concept of the “Hale Wharf” housing development, on the outskirts of London, is the lighting from WE-EF for paths and open spaces that respects the nature of the night.

Growing cities around the world face the challenge of creating new and affordable housing. At the same time, there is an increasing awareness of the need to realise such projects sustainably and with minimum use of resources. This also applies to the London district of Tottenham where, on behalf of the municipal government and under the direction of the Canal and River Trust, Muse Developments built “Hale Wharf”. This compact new housing development with up to 505 apartments in the final configuration, was built on industrial wasteland in the direct vicinity of valuable nature reserves and wetlands. It has a view of the water and is just a few steps from a shopping centre as well as train and underground stations. The benchmark for sustainable, environmentally compatible construction was provided by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification method developed in Great Britain, the oldest and most widely used certification system for sustainable construction.

The lighting: Energy-efficient without stray light

In the summer of 2021, the first construction phase was completed. It comprised. 249 apartments and a pedestrian bridge over the canal separating Hale Wharf from Tottenham. The two high-rise residential buildings, with tiled facades designed by the architecture firm Allies and Morrison, have an urban character that is continued in the piazza-like design of the open spaces.

“We kept the site simple and low maintenance – befitting the former industrial area on the edge of Lee Valley”, explained landscape architect Rebecca Lyons from the office “Landscape Projects”.

An attractive promenade lined with plane trees was created along the canal together with traffic-calmed access roads and children’s play areas. To illuminate this common space, the planners needed a pole luminaire that met the stringent requirements of BREEAM – both in terms of full shielding to prevent stray light reaching the sky as well as energy efficiency. Due to the strictly predefined installation points, a further criterion was the availability of different light distributions to precisely illuminate the paths and open spaces with a pleasant light in conformity with standards.

Flexibility thanks to a variety of light distributions

WE-EF was able to meet all these requirements with suitably configured street and area lighting luminaires from the PFL200 series. The planners opted for PFL230 LED luminaires throughout on 4.5-metre and 6-metre high, slightly tapered poles. Thanks to the use of single and double-arm brackets and [A60] [S65] [R65] distributions, they aligned the lighting to the area geometry of the promenade. The precise luminaire optics ensure that the light is directed to exactly where it is needed – and that, for example, the river remains largely free of stray light. A clear, timeless design with high-quality materials and special 5CE corrosion protection ensures that the lighting system will be reliable and keep its attractive appearance for many years to come.

Project data
Client: Canal & River Trust, Muse Developments
Completion (1st construction phase): June 2021
Architects: Allies and Morrison, London
Statics: Ramboll UK Ltd
Consulting engineers: Hilson Moran
Landscape planning: Landscape Projects
Photos: James Newton for WE-EF

https://www.watersideplaces.co.uk/projects-places/hale-wharf/