WORK, LIFE AND LIGHT BALANCE

Architectural quality and amenities are becoming increasingly important as factors determining the attractiveness of office and industrial parks. In Croxley Park, illuminated outdoor areas with a new design create a feel-good atmosphere, even for people having to work late.

Croxley Park, an office park near Watford with an area of more than 30 hectares, aims to offer particularly attractive working conditions for modern companies and start-ups. This not only refers to the good transport links of the parkland location north of London; during the past three years, the operators have invested heavily in high-quality new buildings with a service centre called The Hive in addition to the office buildings, and have redesigned the outdoor facilities including the lighting. The workplace is also increasingly becoming a living space where employees can enjoy services such as a café, a gym, a day-care centre and many other amenities – and which is also a pleasant place to spend time after work.

The new lighting on the campus-like site, which WE-EF developed together with the planners of the responsible architectural office, ESA from London, meets these requirements. The central element of the lighting concept are the ring-shaped CFT540 pole mounted luminaires from WE-EF. Approximately 260 of them, mounted on 5-metre high aluminium poles, provide safe lighting for paths and open spaces. The warm white temperature colour (3000 K) additionally contributes to creating a pleasant atmosphere.

All luminaires from the CFT500 series use WE-EF OLC® lens technology (One LED Concept) with a multi-layer principle to ensure uniform light distribution with very good visual comfort. To further improve the efficiency, RFC® technology developed by WE-EF is also used. The conventional flat glass cover is replaced by a UV-stabilised, clear PMMA or PC cover with a contour following the shape of the OLC® lenses. This reduces the amount of internal reflection to an absolute minimum.

With their clear, modern design language, the CFT540 pole mounted luminaires are a defining feature of the office park and its architecture. As durable, energy-efficient products, they also support the operator’s ambitious sustainability goals.

Architecture and lighting design: ESA architects, London
General contractor: Briggs & Forrester, Northampton
Principal: Columbia Threadneedle
Photos: James Newton for WE-EF