The Paddington campus of the UNSW School of Art & Design is located in Sydney’s largest cluster of cultural and creative industry businesses and institutions. Museum-quality galleries and state-of-the-art workshops, open studios and private workspaces, research and digital labs, student lounges, and collaborative spaces are all part of the specialist campus.

The main goals for this project were to provide luminaires with minimal glare, as well as fixtures that could be seamlessly integrated. The Sonnos downlight range was chosen because it is a lens-based downlight with a black reflector and a black body. With these attributes and the lens being recessed back into the body of the fixture, the Sonnos has extremely low glare and when seen from the lectern, appears to be turned off.

Richie Rail 18 from XD Profiles integrates perfectly into the underside of handrails. The light source is concealed and below eyesight thus only the result of a uniformly lit staircase can be seen, rather than the glare from the light source. Another benefit of the Richie Rail is that all the cabling exits via the structural wall mount brackets. This functional light is an unobtrusive safety features; students can safely transverse the staircase, without the light disrupting their already seated peers.

The Inplana echoes the same low glare qualities of the other products used in this project, however, it achieves it through a CDP diffuser that not only reduces scalloping on walls but achieves cylindrical illumination that encourages visual communication between students.

Teaching and learning formats are becoming increasingly flexible. An attractive learning environment still needs to meet the different communication formats used in this space; visual, verbal, and digital. The resulting design featuring Light Culture’s low glare luminaires and sound-absorbing acoustic wall and ceiling panels result in a very comfortable space for students to learn for extended periods of time, and a space that inviting for students and teachers.