Manchester hits the right note

The new wing of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester runs the gamut of lighting environments, from offices for the management to acoustically sensitive practice rooms and orchestral studios

Even the glazed frontage of the Oxford Road Wing, which is on one of the busiest roads in the city, had to be considered from both a visual and acoustic perspective. An acoustic buffer, installed to reduce traffic noise on the ground floor, doubles as a promotional display for the college, promoting its activities as an international conservatoire and arts centre.

Zumtobel, the principal lighting supplier for the project, supplied RGB T5 2Light fittings controlled by a Luxmate Emotion system, turning the space into a glowing colour-changing light box.

More illuminating
Extra illumination for the space is from the Light Tools system, a flush-mounted channel with four lighting inserts – spotlight/downlight, flood/downlight, linear luminaire/flood, wallwasher – which highlights images on the walls behind the glazing.

At the heart of the building are two double-height orchestral rehearsal studios, general teaching rooms and a headquarters for the Manchester Camerata chamber orchestra.

"A suspended solution in this area was out of the question as the sound would have made the lighting move"

There are also 17 practice rooms for groups of up to four players. Craig Jackson of Gifford and Partners, who specified the lighting, says these areas were a particular challenge. “The lighting had to be robust and without parts which could reverberate from the sound of the instruments. A suspended solution in this area was out of the question as the sound would have made the lighting move. We also had to ensure a co-ordinated design with the coffered acoustic ceiling.”

Glare-free light
So Jackson specified more than 100 Zumtobel Lightfields linear T5 fittings. Its micro-pyramidal optic creates even, glare-free illumination, essential for students who need to read music scores for lengthy rehearsals.

Where daylight enters the space, in the double-height rehearsal studios, for example, daylight linking is used.

Slightly more prosaic was the illumination of the office areas and corridors. Claris II direct/indirect suspended luminaires fitted the bill in the offices and Panos downlights illuminate the corridors.

Project details

Client: Royal Northern College Of Music
Architect: MBLA Architects + Urbanists
M&E engineer and structural engineer: Gifford and Partners
Principal supplier: Zumtobel