Gym Lighting in a Grade I Listed Multi-use Building.

Project Summary:

Location: Royal William Yard, Plymouth
Sector: Gym
Client: BLOCK
Architect: Gillespie Yunnie Architects
Consultant: Method Consulting
Electrical Contractor: Mets
Fit Out: Jasmine Project Management
Value: £50k
Duration: 24 months
Size: 6,350 sq.ft
Photography: Tom Bird and BLOCK

The final stage of the refurbishment and fit out of The Melville Building in Royal William Yard in Plymouth sees the launch of the state of the art BLOCK gym.

Shortlisted for ‘Newcomer of the Year’ in the 2023 National Fitness Awards, the long awaited BLOCK gym is the cherry on the top of the award winning Royal Williams Yard redevelopment scheme. The popular waterside destination is already well renowned for its quality restaurants, cinema, galleries and retail.

Situated on the ground floor of the Melville building, the new £500,000 gym is open 24 hours and offers the latest cardio equipment, weights area and functional training zone, making the Royal William Yard the ultimate wellness destination.

The scheme was designed by Gillespie Yunnie Architects, drawing upon extensive knowledge of both Melville and Royal William Yard. The scheme uses the continuous design language of new elements, within the existing built fabric.

As the continuation of the original CAT A fit out at Melville, our light engineers attended several site meetings with the contractor, architects and the client in Plymouth, to support the CAT B fit out part of the project with a gym lighting design.

Following our previous collaboration with Method Consulting, we have been approached by their project team with the request for lighting design in June 2020. We worked closely with Method and Gillespie Yunnie Architects and our lighting design and engineering team became an integral part of the project, turning the design concept into reality.

Our light engineers attended several site meetings with the contractor, architects and the client in Plymouth, provided product samples and technical expertise for the project. Due to the listed nature of the building, the suspended lighting had to be installed using a cable run.

The best selling linear lighting Rio Suspended was used across the main studio space. The direct/-indirect light distribution was applied to light the beautiful ceiling structure and create a more comfortable illumination. The linear fittings worked well with the existing beams and cable trays, creating a playful architectural feature. The functional cardio zone is lit by the circular suspended lighting Talla Suspended. The timeless pendant lights bring a bit of fun element, energising the space.

The LED gym lighting was delivered as part of the main Melville project throughout the 2022, in time for the gym's opening in January 2023. The scheme uses 4000K colour temperatures to achieve a cooler white light, ideal for office space and cool gym lighting.

All gym ceiling lighting was supplied in a contemporary matte black finish. The recessed lighting with a trim was supplied with a white trim. Integrated emergency lighting was supplied for the main gym areas and full standalone emergency package on all other areas. In terms of dimming the light, this lighting installation was specified and supplied as DALI dimmable.