Location
Doha, Qatar

Date
2023–ongoing

Client
JMJ Group Holding

Operator
SLS Hotels and Residences

Design Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Executive Architect + MEP
FD Consult

Landscape
Cracknell

Interior Designer
Design Lab

Facade + Sustainability
Werner + Sobek

Structural Engineers
FHECOR

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects | Atchan

ZHA unveils design for The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina in Qatar for JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects. SEAM Design brings enhancements, comfort and identity at night with light.

Comprised of 293 apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies powered by on-site renewables to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

Qatar's JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects has unveiled The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina by Zaha Hadid Architects incorporating the highest standards of design and sustainability.

Comprised of 293 one- to four-bedroom apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community. A tree-lined pedestrian street along the shore, The Grove's waterfront promenade will incorporate the local cafes and restaurants, as well as the local shops and boutiques that enrich the vibrancy of enticing neighbourhoods around the world.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year. Powered by on-site renewables and developed for optimum efficiencies, the re-utilization of pre-cooled extracted air from the buildings will cool the promenade during warmer months to enhance comfort.

Maximizing The Grove’s renewable energy potential while minimizing consumption, the development’s cooling energy demand is reduced with integrated shading and the high thermal mass of its low-carbon concrete structure including foundations designed to transfer heat away from the buildings. Photovoltaic panels within the optimized building envelope will be complemented by energy supplied via a high-efficiency geothermal heat pump system.

Rainwater harvesting, alongside micro-irrigation systems for locally acclimatised plants, will curtail water demand whilst a network of photovoltaic ‘trees’ throughout the promenade will enhance outdoor comfort and combine shading, water harvesting, lighting, and renewable energy production.

Supported by The Grove’s interconnecting podium is an elevated landscape of sheltered walkways, verdant gardens and terraces with infinity pools offering residents and guests uninterrupted views across the bay. The residents' members’ club, wellness center, entertainment lounge and other amenities are located at this level to directly connect with this elevated landscape.

The orientation and composition of The Grove’s residences have been designed to optimise views, shading and privacy, together with intricately crafted interiors of the common areas designed byZaha Hadid Architects. Each apartment includes extensive outdoor living spaces on generous balconies for residents to enjoy dining and relaxing at home within The Grove's cooled external environment powered by the development's renewable technologies.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' that create a dynamic visual rhythm and have been designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

The stepped balconies and vertical components within the façade provide separation and privacy for residents while maintaining views of the waterfront from each apartment. Developed as a modular system enabling repetition and optimization to increase efficiencies in production, the façades enhance the building’s environmental performance and provide extensive shading in response to the region’s climatic demands.

Sheikh Jabor bin Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of JMJ Group Holding, said: “The Grove embodies our commitment to crafting residences that harmonize luxury, innovation, and sustainability. This project sets a new benchmark; offering exceptional design and world-class amenities. The Grove promises to be not just a home, but a premium lifestyle investment. Partnering with SLS Hotels & Residences further enhances this experience. A name synonymous with world-class hospitality, SLS’s expertise will ensure that residents at The Grove enjoy unparalleled service that truly redefines luxury in Qatar.”

Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Managing Director of Qetaifan Projects, said: “The Grove is a significant addition to Qetaifan Island North and a testament to what can be achieved through strategic partnerships. Our collaboration with JMJ Group Holding has resulted in a development that sets a new standard for luxury and innovation in Qatar’s real estate market. We are proud to support such a visionary project that not only enhances the appeal of Qetaifan Island but also strengthens Qatar’s position as a leader in luxury, sustainable living.”

Gianluca Racana, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "We are greatly honoured to collaborate with JMJ Properties. Located on the shoreline of Qetaifan Island North with spectacular views across the bay, The Grovewill seamlessly combine living, leisure and recreational spaces of the highest quality within the most integrated, sustainable community centred around its waterfront promenade and marina. This mixed-use development looks to future with a unique design incorporating advanced technologies that ensure the comfort and wellbeing of residents and visitors throughout the year."

Juan Ignacio Aranguren, Associate Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "Innovation has always been at the heart of Zaha Hadid Architects’ approach to design. Collaborating with Qatar’s leading companies to harness the technology, sustainability, and cultural understanding that will shape the city of the future, The Grove exemplifies how architecture can be a catalyst for creating vibrant, resilient communities."

Emory Smith, Director at SEAM said, "Innovative design thinking and collaboration with ZHA and Cracknell on the identity and master planning of The Grove, has given us the opportunity to contribute and provide impact through light. We have challenged ourselves to go beyond the lighting design brief to create a legacy for JMJ Group and for Doha—a vision that unites aesthetic beauty with environmental responsibility."

Marci Song, Director at SEAM, said "Lighting, often an unspoken language in itself, serves as a powerful communication tool. We are thrilled to share our collaboration on The Grove – a seaside community and destination designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for JMJ Group and Qetaifan Projects. As a design partner to ZHA, Cracknell and Werner + Sobek, we have woven advanced lighting design and sustainable technologies into a seamless experience, ensuring comfort and wellbeing for residents and visitors alike. It’s a testament to collaborative design that balances innovation with design legacy.

Location
Doha, Qatar

Date
2023–ongoing

Client
JMJ Group Holding

Operator
SLS Hotels and Residences

Design Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Executive Architect + MEP
FD Consult

Landscape
Cracknell

Interior Designer
Design Lab

Facade + Sustainability
Werner + Sobek

Structural Engineers
FHECOR

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects | Atchan

ZHA unveils design for The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina in Qatar for JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects. SEAM Design brings enhancements, comfort and identity at night with light.

Comprised of 293 apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies powered by on-site renewables to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

Qatar's JMJ Group Holding in collaboration with Qetaifan Projects has unveiled The Grove, a new seafront neighbourhood and marina by Zaha Hadid Architects incorporating the highest standards of design and sustainability.

Comprised of 293 one- to four-bedroom apartments offering panoramic views of Qetaifan Bay and the Lusail skyline, The Grove has been designed with its waterfront promenade as the heart of the community. A tree-lined pedestrian street along the shore, The Grove's waterfront promenade will incorporate the local cafes and restaurants, as well as the local shops and boutiques that enrich the vibrancy of enticing neighbourhoods around the world.

Passive design strategies are combined with advanced cooling technologies to enable residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor living, dining and recreation along the neighbourhood’s waterfront promenade throughout the year. Powered by on-site renewables and developed for optimum efficiencies, the re-utilization of pre-cooled extracted air from the buildings will cool the promenade during warmer months to enhance comfort.

Maximizing The Grove’s renewable energy potential while minimizing consumption, the development’s cooling energy demand is reduced with integrated shading and the high thermal mass of its low-carbon concrete structure including foundations designed to transfer heat away from the buildings. Photovoltaic panels within the optimized building envelope will be complemented by energy supplied via a high-efficiency geothermal heat pump system.

Rainwater harvesting, alongside micro-irrigation systems for locally acclimatised plants, will curtail water demand whilst a network of photovoltaic ‘trees’ throughout the promenade will enhance outdoor comfort and combine shading, water harvesting, lighting, and renewable energy production.

Supported by The Grove’s interconnecting podium is an elevated landscape of sheltered walkways, verdant gardens and terraces with infinity pools offering residents and guests uninterrupted views across the bay. The residents' members’ club, wellness center, entertainment lounge and other amenities are located at this level to directly connect with this elevated landscape.

The orientation and composition of The Grove’s residences have been designed to optimise views, shading and privacy, together with intricately crafted interiors of the common areas designed byZaha Hadid Architects. Each apartment includes extensive outdoor living spaces on generous balconies for residents to enjoy dining and relaxing at home within The Grove's cooled external environment powered by the development's renewable technologies.

Defining the development's unique geometries, the façades are characterized by an interplay of vertical and horizontal 'scoops' that create a dynamic visual rhythm and have been designed to meet Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) targets of less than 50% glazing.

The stepped balconies and vertical components within the façade provide separation and privacy for residents while maintaining views of the waterfront from each apartment. Developed as a modular system enabling repetition and optimization to increase efficiencies in production, the façades enhance the building’s environmental performance and provide extensive shading in response to the region’s climatic demands.

Sheikh Jabor bin Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of JMJ Group Holding, said: “The Grove embodies our commitment to crafting residences that harmonize luxury, innovation, and sustainability. This project sets a new benchmark; offering exceptional design and world-class amenities. The Grove promises to be not just a home, but a premium lifestyle investment. Partnering with SLS Hotels & Residences further enhances this experience. A name synonymous with world-class hospitality, SLS’s expertise will ensure that residents at The Grove enjoy unparalleled service that truly redefines luxury in Qatar.”

Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Managing Director of Qetaifan Projects, said: “The Grove is a significant addition to Qetaifan Island North and a testament to what can be achieved through strategic partnerships. Our collaboration with JMJ Group Holding has resulted in a development that sets a new standard for luxury and innovation in Qatar’s real estate market. We are proud to support such a visionary project that not only enhances the appeal of Qetaifan Island but also strengthens Qatar’s position as a leader in luxury, sustainable living.”

Gianluca Racana, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "We are greatly honoured to collaborate with JMJ Properties. Located on the shoreline of Qetaifan Island North with spectacular views across the bay, The Grovewill seamlessly combine living, leisure and recreational spaces of the highest quality within the most integrated, sustainable community centred around its waterfront promenade and marina. This mixed-use development looks to future with a unique design incorporating advanced technologies that ensure the comfort and wellbeing of residents and visitors throughout the year."

Juan Ignacio Aranguren, Associate Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, said: "Innovation has always been at the heart of Zaha Hadid Architects’ approach to design. Collaborating with Qatar’s leading companies to harness the technology, sustainability, and cultural understanding that will shape the city of the future, The Grove exemplifies how architecture can be a catalyst for creating vibrant, resilient communities."

Emory Smith, Director at SEAM said, "Innovative design thinking and collaboration with ZHA and Cracknell on the identity and master planning of The Grove, has given us the opportunity to contribute and provide impact through light. We have challenged ourselves to go beyond the lighting design brief to create a legacy for JMJ Group and for Doha—a vision that unites aesthetic beauty with environmental responsibility."

Marci Song, Director at SEAM, said "Lighting, often an unspoken language in itself, serves as a powerful communication tool. We are thrilled to share our collaboration on The Grove – a seaside community and destination designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for JMJ Group and Qetaifan Projects. As a design partner to ZHA, Cracknell and Werner + Sobek, we have woven advanced lighting design and sustainable technologies into a seamless experience, ensuring comfort and wellbeing for residents and visitors alike. It’s a testament to collaborative design that balances innovation with design legacy.

Location
Khao Yai, Thailand

Date
2023

Client
MYS Khao Yai

Architect
Urban Praxis Co., Ltd.

Team
Interior Designers : Apichaya Krongboonying and Kalunyoo Sipiyaruk

Lighting Designer : SEAM Design

Landscape architect : Magla Landscape Co., Ltd.

Structural Engineer : Supol Techanakara, Thawatchai Pengsuwa, Ruethatip Kerdperm, Pongsiri Prechaponkit

Civil Engineer: Wandee Boonsom

MEP Engineer: Thirachart Channgam

Electrical Engineer: Narongrit Thammapradit

Project Management: Manmade Interiors Co., Ltd.

Construction Management: Project Asia

MYS Khao Yai Hotel will be the newest boutique destination in Khao Yai, Thailand. Featuring contemporary modern Scandinavian inspired Thai design, guests will enjoy beautifully appointed decor that blurs interior and exterior of the common amenity spaces and private villas.

The main reception lobby features a levitating outdoor swimming pool and is connected to a lounge cafe that opens to expansive highly curated gardens across the hotel grounds. The hotel will also feature a wine bar and Michelin level all-day dining. Exclusive visitors can also book two residences on the hotel property for special events and occasions.

Lighting caters to the various activities and special events for guests looking for a quiet countryside destination within some of the most beautiful mountainous parks of the country. MYS Khao Yai can also be booked for special events where the gardens and facilities can host weddings and other special occasions.

Photography

DOF Sky Ground

Diagrams & Illustrations by SEAM

Location
London, UK

Date
2022

Client
London Design Festival

Architect
Stanton Williams

Structural Engineers: Webb Yates

With ‘Henge', we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of London Design Festival. For two decades, it has turned London into a global stage for the best design and talent coming out of Britain. The Festival, without a doubt, has helped to grow London into the creative capital of the world. With each landmark project and each art piece, there are many stories to tell. There are experiences shaped through the materiality of light and narratives that tie the sculpture to the site in beautiful and meaningful ways. Lighting activates night time space, especially those under-utilised just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

Through these projects, we witness how lighting engages the public and gathers people together, particularly in London, which is becoming so culturally rich at night. Marking our 12th project for London Design Festival, ‘Henge' at Wren Landing – Canary Wharf exemplifies the important role public art plays in the cultural well-being and enjoyment of cities.

For one of the Festival's Landmark Projects, a collaborative endeavour by Stanton Williams and Experimentapt, sees the conception of ‘Henge', a captivating and participatory sculptural form. Designed to inspire creative engagement, ‘Henge' beckons residents, workers, and visitors to immerse themselves in its artistic allure, igniting impromptu performances, musical interludes, and poetry readings both within and around its structure.

Poised atop Wren Landing, overlooking the iconic North Dock footbridge, ‘Henge' stands as a beckoning gateway, welcoming a steady stream of people from West India Quay Station to Cabot Square.

To elevate the enchantment after dusk, SEAM, with support from Light Projects, extends the experience into the night time hours through meticulously positioned and programmed lighting. ‘Henge' maintains its monumentality and elegance, transforming into a captivating night dial that unveils time through graceful movements of light.

As each quarter hour approaches, a carefully choreographed light sequence breathes life into the installation, not only infusing it with animation but also paying homage to ‘Henge' as an artistic instrument of time.

Photography
London – Mark Cocks edge

Diagrams & Illustrations by SEAM

Location
London, UK
Milan, Italy
Madrid, Spain

Date
2018–ongoing

Client
American Hardwood Export Council
London Design Festival
Milan Design Week
Madrid Design Festival

Architect
Waugh Thistleton Architects

Team
Arup
Stage One

The demountable pavilion MultiPly first debuted for London Design Festival 2018, and has so far travelled to Milan Design Week 2019 and Madrid Design Festival 2020. Designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects for the American Hardwood Export Council, the public artwork applies prefabrication and modular construction to showcase engineered-timber’s material integrity and beauty. Each urban situation informs a bespoke modular configuration and, in response, a unique lighting programme, with SEAM’s illumination bringing each MultiPly installation to life after dark.

SEAM expanded the lighting brief to include the project’s modularity, with an affordable, transportable and dynamically programmable system. A singular lighting detail is integrated into each module during pre-fabrication, with all modules then connected on site and controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth. Once assembled, each system is programmed on location in real-time across a single evening, using mobile devices to operate MultiPly, to align the pavilion’s brightness and animations with the local sunset hours and spatial context from key local vantage points.

The resulting, dynamic compositions of glowing doorways, layering light and dark surfaces, make MultiPly’s architecture legible and enjoyable at night. At the human scale, the lighting welcomes visitors and highlights pathways through the maze-like interior, while at the urban scale it creates an enigmatic sculpture, which then evolves in a shifting parallax of solids and voids as one encircles, enters and ascends through the structure. The precise route through MultiPly remains each visitor’s own exploration.

While London revolved around an interior exploration, Milan was viewed predominantly as a stacked facade in elevation, and Madrid introduced an inhabitable sculpture into the city’s Esplanade de Puente del Rey civic realm – representing an unprecedented public artwork for Spain. In every iteration, MultiPly shows how lighting can enhance architecture’s modularity, sustainability and identity, while demonstrating all of these qualities as urban experiences for people to enjoy.

Awards
2019 Wood Awards – Small Project
2019 Structural Timber Awards – Pioneer Award

Photography
London – Ed Reeve
Milan – Giovanni Nardi
Madrid – Eugenio de Vila Martinez

Diagrams & Illustrations by SEAM

Location
Phuket, Thailand

Floral designer
PHKA

Architects for Central Phuket complex
Studio DS
A49

As part of the masterplanned Central Phuket lifestyle complex, the nature-themed Central Floresta mall features dramatic planted ceilings, led by floral designer PHKA and lit by SEAM. Throughout these eye-catching installations, all natural elements are high-quality replicas, to preserve and showcase Thailand’s ecological offering for visitors.

At the entrance to the first-floor luxury brand zone, white Phalaenopsis orchids hang within a grid of bronze aluminium bars, with matching metal pendants that diffuse downwards through the translucent petals to dapple the floral pattern in silhouette across the chevron-tiled floor. On the level-two lobby above – leading to lots of trendy outlets – some white coral-like structures nestle between acrylic rods and glowing tubes, to draw visitors visually through the space.

The assorted, suspended steel and rattan boxes on level three reference Phuket’s local basket craft, hovering within a dense tropical forest that’s permeated with Pink Bougainvillea. Here, simple pendants focus attention on the flowers and foliage, announcing the seating area underneath. Nearby at the level-three lift lobby, more tropical foliage hangs between curved polycarbonate curtains, with perimeter cove lighting to create a cloud-like effect. Here, discreet downlights additionally bridge from the day-lit perimeter circulation into the artificially lit interior concourse.

In each instance, SEAM’s lighting highlights the forms and textures of these varied natural elements, inviting visitors to explore deeper into this new commercial complex.

Photography
Courtesy of PHKA

Location
Melbourne, Australia

Date
2020

Interior architect
Universal Design Studio

Design architects
UN Studio
Woods Bagot

The 80 Collins commercial development overhauls an entire city block within the Melbourne CBD. The project provides a new 40-storey office building, with concurrent refurbishment of the 1970s-built, 47-storey Nauru House office tower plus construction of a 19-storey hotel. A spatially interlocked podium integrates the pedestrian flows to the three towers from the surrounding streets.

Working with London-based architects Universal Design Studio, SEAM has designed a lighting concept for the North Tower and South Tower lobbies that integrates the aesthetic of a minimalist modern reception with art gallery lighting performance. Closely related but finely distinguished aesthetically, the architectural lighting for the two lobbies is designed to emphasise their unique interior geometry and materiality while preserving commercial functionality.

The first of two lighting layers is a structured ceiling arrangement combining directional visual lines that reinforce wayfinding with deep transverse channels, recessed to conceal spotlights that highlight art pieces on display throughout the lobbies. The second lighting layer is a discreetly integrated system of linear wall washers that highlight the honed stone surfaces, emphasising their warmth next to satin stainless-steel panels.

Photography - Sean Fennessy

Shortlisted - FX Awards 2022 - Lighting Design Category

Location
Bangkok, Thailand

Date
2018

Clients
PACE Development Corporation
King Power

Architects
Buro: Ole Scheeren
Palmer & Turner Co
L49

The 314-metre MahaNakhon Tower became Bangkok’s tallest building when complete. SEAM, as the lead architectural-lighting designer for the tower facade and public realm, was briefed by Buro: Ole Scheeren to transform this much anticipated landmark into “a beautiful architectural sculpture at night”.

How do we light a supertall, asymmetric facade to become the largest artwork in Southeast Asia? For clues, SEAM studied the development’s massing, geometry, functions, urban situation and skyline position, and analysed the many observer scenarios – including by whom, from where, for how long, at which angles, and through which urban vistas – to then expand the lighting brief in response to the context and potential. Discarding the traditional high-rise ‘crown lighting’ approach, SEAM connects MahaNakhon Tower’s facade lighting intrinsically with Buro: Ole Scheeren’s architecture, with a programmable system that animates the tower’s signature eroded geometry. SEAM studied each storey’s spatial organisation to identify 640 spandrel-panel luminaire locations which together preserve every tenants’ interior lighting autonomy while emphasising MahaNakhon Tower’s unique pixelated form.

The animation’s duration and movement respond to the many possible viewer perspectives: from pedestrians approaching via Silom Road, to passengers pausing at the nearby Chong Nonsi elevated metro station, to drivers stuck in North Sathon Road’s traffic, and to the guests and residents of Bangkok’s many high-rise hotels and condos who see MahaNakhon Tower from great distance. Regulated to seasonal hours with an astronomical clock, this dynamic programme follows the city’s daily activity cycle, echoing the busy horizontal vectors of the evening rush-hour, before eventually receding into the night sky.

Visible throughout the city, MahaNakhon Tower has become a night-and-day icon for Bangkok, appearing as a key attractor in global tourism coverage, and driving local renewal. SEAM’s lighting elevates MahaNakhon Tower from architectural landmark to dynamic public artwork, and a glowing emblem for Bangkok’s emerging status as the design capital of Southeast Asia.

Awards
2019 CTBUH Design Awards – Best Tall Building (300–399 metres) – Award of Excellence
2015 Asia Pacific Property Awards – Best Mixed-Use Development Thailand
2015 Asia Pacific Property Awards – Best Apartment / Condominium Development Thailand
2015 Asia Pacific Property Awards – Highly Commended Residential High-Rise Development Thailand
2014 South East Asia Property Awards – Best Condo Development South East Asia
2014 South East Asia Property Awards – Best Condo Development Thailand
2014 Thailand Property Awards – Best Luxury Condo Development Bangkok

Photography
Srirath Somsawat

Location
London, UK

Date
2019

Client
Brookfield

Architect
Foster + Partners

Team
Hurley Palmer Flatt

At the forefront of new developments emerging in central London stands the recently completed 50-storey Principal Tower designed by Foster + Partners. Joining the exclusive league of tall towers in the City cluster, the tower is characterised by an elegant silhouette made more slender by curved corner windows that also provide panoramic views over London. Its realisation crowns the Principal Place mixed-use development and completes the composition of buildings which together offer highly desired commercial and residential accommodation at the edge of Shoreditch and the City.

Tasked with bringing landmark status to this prestigious address in the evenings, SEAM developed an original feature lighting strategy that accentuates its signature vertical profile. In the absence of local precedent for feature facade lighting of residential towers, extensive analysis was conducted to ensure maximum visual expression and minimal nuisance to residents. Dynamic addressable lighting along the fins of each floor is integrated neatly within the architectural detail of the spandrel. From the early evening to the late-night hours, the facade lighting gradually brightens towards the crown making Principal Tower an iconic landmark on the skyline of London.

Photography
Brookfield
Foster + Partners

Location
Manchester, UK

Date
2021

Architect / Structural Engineer
Tonkin Liu / Arup

As the built expression of Manchester’s commitment to a low-carbon future, this sculptural tower stands atop a new district-energy centre that serves public institutions throughout the historic Civic Quarter. The single-surface envelope demonstrates Tonkin Liu’s experimental Shell Lace technology – developed with Arup and the Natural History Museum – precisely formed and extensively perforated for maximum structural and material efficiency. At street level, a bespoke white-ceramic tiled facade encloses the combined-heat-and-power (CHP) facility. A cinematic viewing window reveals the co-generation technology to passers-by.

Facade lights at the base of the tower illuminate the 40-metre structure while a series of spotlights within the structure wash the interior surface of the Shell Lace. The dappled light is amplified when it is mirrored on the surface of the reflective central flues.

With full DMX control integration, the system offers Manchester City Council showtime capability for civic events. On the everyday program, the Tower of Light and ground-floor gallery are synchronously programmed to provide an animated sequence of light that transitions from early evening to late night in a display of dynamic colour. Late at night, the tower transforms into a lantern that flickers gently.

Photography
David Valinsky

Shortlisted - FX Awards 2022 - Lighting Design Category

Location
Munich, Germany

Date
2017

Client
IBM

Architects
Universal Design Studio
Switzer Group

Team
Map Project Office

The Highlight Towers in Munich, Germany, are now home to the new global Headquarters for IBM's Watson Internet of Things businesses for customers interested in innovative use of integrated IoT and Watson cognitive technologies, bringing it closer to everyday users. Universal Design Studio was appointed to develop a new design language to represent IBM Watson IoT and an approach to explaining the complex nature of cognitive computing and the Internet of Things by using physical installations and experiments rather than the traditional overuse of screens. For UDS, digital themes like light and scale, multiples and granularity served as inspiration for determining material choices like black and white terrazzo, timber panels, concrete and machined Corian.

Lighting technology and lighting integration carried the same level of sophistication and application within each of the client spaces starting at the ground level feature reception and exhibition area, moving up to the 20th floor where Client Experience zones create an immersive journey by taking customers through the story of IBM IoT Watson technology. Lighting control systems and lighting choreography are programmed to work with interactive use of IBM IoT simulations to clearly demonstrate their new innovative technology. Whilst the back-end relies on a sophisticated lighting technology, considerations for front-end lighting ensure elegance and simplicity in the architectural lighting design.

Awards
2017 New York Design Awards – Interior Design – International Corporate

Photography
Eduardo Perez Photography

Location
Wakefield, UK

Date
2019

Exhibition architect
Farshid Moussavi Architecture

At the Hepworth Wakefield gallery in Leeds, the temporary exhibition The Journey of Things brings together more than 50 of Magdalene Odundo’s vessels. As exhibition designer, Farshid Moussavi Architecture has successfully and elegantly knitted together a minimalist David Chipperfield gallery with the delicateness of Odundo’s ceramic art. This exhibition is a journey through these influential art pieces told in a series of demarcated pathways, carved within continuous monolithic display plinths shrouded in a velvety tadelakt surface. Coupled with a lighting narrative by SEAM, Odundo’s work is set centre stage within a context of the artist’s influences and inspirations from the works of others including Henri Moore, Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth, Edgar Degas and others.

“Heartbreakingly beautiful" – Burlington Contemporary

“The exhibition’s design is an unusually prominent feature… Farshid Moussavi displays Odundo’s choices on surfaces of dappled grey, which soften The Hepworth’s concrete right angles with zig-zagging lines… The use of graduated step-like platforms for display allows for objects to be seen one behind the other, which supports Odundo’s framework of multi-layered narratives.” – Frieze

★★★★★ – The Guardian

Photography
Lewis Ronald

Location
Bangkok, Thailand

Date
2018

Client
PACE Development Corporation

Design
David Collins Studio

Executive architect
L49

The Ritz-Carlton Residences are luxury apartments set within the MahaNakhon tower development in Bangkok. SEAM worked closely with David Collins Studio to bring light to luxury, for residents to enjoy exquisitely styled lobby and lounge areas, activity and fitness rooms, cocktail bar and dining areas and a beautiful outdoor pool deck, across three exclusive floors.

Photography
Srirath Somsawat

Location
Geneva, Switzerland

Date
2014

Client
HSBC

Architects
Make Architects
Itten+Brechbühl

Team
Rigot+Rieben

Located on Quai des Bergues in one of Geneva’s most prestigious historic areas, Make’s scheme for HSBC Private Bank merges seven individual, 18th-century buildings into a new unified, state-of-the-art front office along the waterfront of Lake Geneva. With the revival of the historic buildings, HSBC’s presence is re-established as a global bank in a city renowned for banking. The architect’s brief was in essence, two in one: to provide confidentiality, discretion and seclusion for clients, while providing transparency, security and a comfortable, open and friendly working environment for staff.

SEAM Design was tasked with providing innovative lighting design solutions for all interior and exterior areas including a centralised grand feature atrium, typical office levels, trading floor, staff floor amenities such as tea points and restrooms, high-spec client levels with meeting rooms, dining rooms and other amenities, plus executive offices and executive lounge offices. The lighting aspires to a unified design, one that unequivocally evokes HSBC as a global brand while combining the distinct approach to client and staff into an intertwined whole. Throughout the expansive scheme, lighting shared a design importance with architectural materials, considerately handled and integrated into the material palette of furniture, finishes and architectural detailing, even for service stairs and back of house corridors.

Awards
2015 Lighting Design Awards – International Project, Interiors – Shortlisted
2015 Building Awards – International Project of the Year – Shortlisted
2015 AJ Retrofit Awards – International Innovation Award – Shortlisted
2014 FX International Interior Design Awards – Workspace Environment – Shortlisted
2014 FX International Interior Design Awards – Global Project Winner

Photography
Vincent Jendly
John MacLean

Location
Phuket, Thailand

Floral designer
PHKA

Architects for Central Phuket complex
Studio DS
A49

As part of the masterplanned Central Phuket lifestyle complex, the nature-themed Central Floresta mall features dramatic planted ceilings, led by floral designer PHKA and lit by SEAM. Throughout these eye-catching installations, all natural elements are high-quality replicas, to preserve and showcase Thailand’s ecological offering for visitors.

At the entrance to the first-floor luxury brand zone, white Phalaenopsis orchids hang within a grid of bronze aluminium bars, with matching metal pendants that diffuse downwards through the translucent petals to dapple the floral pattern in silhouette across the chevron-tiled floor. On the level-two lobby above – leading to lots of trendy outlets – some white coral-like structures nestle between acrylic rods and glowing tubes, to draw visitors visually through the space.

The assorted, suspended steel and rattan boxes on level three reference Phuket’s local basket craft, hovering within a dense tropical forest that’s permeated with Pink Bougainvillea. Here, simple pendants focus attention on the flowers and foliage, announcing the seating area underneath. Nearby at the level-three lift lobby, more tropical foliage hangs between curved polycarbonate curtains, with perimeter cove lighting to create a cloud-like effect. Here, discreet downlights additionally bridge from the day-lit perimeter circulation into the artificially lit interior concourse.

In each instance, SEAM’s lighting highlights the forms and textures of these varied natural elements, inviting visitors to explore deeper into this new commercial complex.

Photography
Courtesy of PHKA

Location
Melbourne, Australia

Date
2016

Clients
Seventh Wave
QIC

Architects
ACME
Universal Design Studio
Softroom Architects
Buchan Group

Landscape
GROSS MAX

With full completion in 2016, the high-profile retail and leisure development of Eastland is the product of intense collaboration between London-based emergent designers and Melbourne executive teams. A visionary proposal for the 21st century, the development creates an extensive public realm and Town Square flanked by a substantial extension to the 1960s shopping centre, a new community library, and an innovative facade redressing an expansive multi-storey car park. Each of five retail districts within the remodelled mall has been carefully designed to offer visitors a unique shopping atmosphere and experiences. Fully integrated lighting highlights each of the distinct design districts with details to emphasise materials and architectural form. Through lighting, Eastland extends its placemaking and influence into the evening and early night, creating a unique destination for Ringwood, Victoria and the Greater Melbourne area.

Awards
2019 Prix Versailles – Best Shopping Mall Exterior in South Asia and the Pacific
2017 World Architecture Festival – Shortlisted
2017 Victoria Architecture Awards – Public Building of the Year – Shortlisted
2017 Lighting Design Awards – Retail Project of the Year – Shortlisted

Photography
Stephanie Rooney

Location
London, UK

Date
2019

Curator
Matter of Stuff

Exhibition designer
PiM.studio

Hosted at London’s artist-led Sketch restaurant in Mayfair, this temporary exhibition repurposes thousands of wooden dowels from curator Matter of Stuff’s previous Pop-Up Concept Gallery show into a screened linear gallery.

Four emerging designers showcase innovative, up-cycled artworks made with the dowels. Functional objects and sculptures capitalise on the dowels’ material strength while championing resource efficiency and waste minimisation. SEAM’s proposal re-purposes standard gallery track and spotlights into a lighting system that highlights the form and texture of the screening walls. The simple retrofit of the system allows for the lighting to be programmed into scenes that dim gradually into an undulating late-night lighting sequence that creates a gentle drifting atmosphere to the gallery.

Photography
Matter of Stuff/Mark Cocksedge

Location
Canberra, Australia

Date
2017

Clients
QIC
Seventh Wave

Architects
Universal Design Studio
Mather Architects

Team
S4B
BLOC

The design scheme includes restoring and redeveloping the historic 1963 centre, housing both Ainslie and Monaro Malls, with a new masterplan and newly designed facades, interiors and exterior spaces. The lighting was carefully designed and integrated within both new and existing architectural elements celebrating the new modernist design by Universal Design Studio.

Harking back to 1950s and ‘60s lighting influences of simple yet bold shapes, the lighting language of illumination, hidden luminaires within architectural details, and use of metal finishes threaded together three main designed environments, connecting Ainslie Mall, Monaro Mall and the flagship Beauty Precinct as a new and innovative shopping experience in the city of Canberra.

Awards
2018 AIA (Australia) Awards – The W Hayward Morris Award for Interior Architecture
2018 AIA (Australia) Awards – The Robert Foster Award for Light in Architecture
2018 AIA (Australia) Awards – The J S Murdoch Award for Heritage
2018 AIA (Australia) Awards – Commendation for Small Project Architecture
2018 AIA (Australia) Awards – Award for Commercial Architecture

Photography
Diana Snape
Tom Ross

Location
Paris, France

Status
Design – commenced 2016

Client
Galeries Lafayette

Architects
AL_A
Patriarche

Team
Theatre Projects

SEAM is working together with AL_A and a team of design consultants on the transformation of the flagship Galeries Lafayette department store, located on the Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.

Images
AL_A

Location
Melbourne, Australia

Date
2020

Interior architect
Universal Design Studio

Design architects
UN Studio
Woods Bagot

The 80 Collins commercial development overhauls an entire city block within the Melbourne CBD. The project provides a new 40-storey office building, with concurrent refurbishment of the 1970s-built, 47-storey Nauru House office tower plus construction of a 19-storey hotel. A spatially interlocked podium integrates the pedestrian flows to the three towers from the surrounding streets.

Working with London-based architects Universal Design Studio, SEAM has designed a lighting concept for the North Tower and South Tower lobbies that integrates the aesthetic of a minimalist modern reception with art gallery lighting performance. Closely related but finely distinguished aesthetically, the architectural lighting for the two lobbies is designed to emphasise their unique interior geometry and materiality while preserving commercial functionality.

The first of two lighting layers is a structured ceiling arrangement combining directional visual lines that reinforce wayfinding with deep transverse channels, recessed to conceal spotlights that highlight art pieces on display throughout the lobbies. The second lighting layer is a discreetly integrated system of linear wall washers that highlight the honed stone surfaces, emphasising their warmth next to satin stainless-steel panels.

Location
London, UK

Date
2018

Curator
Matter of Stuff

Installation designer
Raw Edges

Curated by the product-design consultancy Matter of Stuff, this temporary exhibition in Kings Cross’ Fenman House brings together their signature expertise of commissioning design, researching materials and technologies, and showcasing designs from world-renowned design brands.

A minimalist intervention by Raw Edges shapes the interior space with a cost-effective installation of wooden dowels, suspended by the thousands to create visual compartments. Lighting is used to accentuate the warm colour of the wood and vibrant blue cords against the industrial quality of the unfinished commercial-space-turned-gallery. Art-lighting techniques combine with retail product display strategies to create a highly visual experience for the visitors, where design products and architectural surfaces are treated as artworks in a gallery, and the gallery as a bright welcoming retail space.

Simple track and spot lights provide the versatility and flexibility to curate the experience as a journey through displays of exquisite objects, articulating their forms and materials – providing theatrical staging for an eclectic collection that features products by Gio Ponti, Giles Miller, Stella McCartney, Ferragamo, PiM.studio and more.

University partner
Camberwell College of Arts

Photography
Matter of Stuff

Location
Bangkok, Thailand

Date
2014

Clients
Vogue
PACE Development Corporation

Interior Designer
David Collins Studio

Executive architect
PACE

The Vogue Lounge is one of Bangkok’s most exclusive establishments in the Silom-Sathorn area of the city. An elegant interior that evokes the atmosphere and style of 1960s Hollywood is coupled with a stunning exterior terrace that provides direct views of Bangkok’s newest destination: MahaNakhon Tower. Refined details and luxurious materiality throughout the interior instils a sense of opulence revealed by dramatic theatrical lighting.

Taking inspiration from a photographer’s studio, stylised performative framing projectors are carefully focussed on vintage photographs selected from the Vogue archive collection. Original works by Andy Warhol and other 20th-century artists adorn the walls of discrete lounge areas. Decorative modern pendants define an intimate space beneath concentric plaster shells, whilst the programmable lighting system transforms the space from a fresh day-time exclusive feel to a night-time cocktail lounge environment.

Photography
Srirath Somsawat

"While the venue is an all-day dining spot, there’s no denying the decor looks its most spectacular at night." - Lifestyle Asia

"Injecting a decidedly international glamour sensibility into Bangkok’s nightlife..." - Asia Bars

Location
Bangkok, Thailand

Date
2018

Client
PACE Development Corporation

Design
David Collins Studio

Executive architect
L49

The Ritz-Carlton Residences are luxury apartments set within the iconic MahaNakhon tower development in Bangkok. From early morning to late night, the Lounge and Bar areas at Level 54 offer stunning panoramic views of the Bangkok skyline, allowing tenants to observe the change of the city below. Through fresh daytime lighting to cosy evenings to late night drama, SEAM’s lighting is folded into the spaces and details, adding to the rich and luxurious signature quality of David Collins Studio’s design and the Ritz Carlton brand.

Photography
Srirath Somsawat

Location
London, UK

Status
RIBA Stage 1 complete – 2017

Client
City of London Corporation

Partners
Barbican Centre
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
London Symphony Orchestra
Museum of London

Architect
Fluid Architecture

Community engagement
Soundings

This 45-hectare site spans nearly a mile between London’s Moorgate and Farringdon metro stations, encompassing the brutalist Barbican estate and industrial Smithfield market area. This City of London enclave features a vibrant mix of ancient and modern architecture, with Roman walls and medieval churches sitting amidst new railway infrastructure, office towers and apartment blocks. However a fragmented multi-level public realm creates complex navigation and disparate pedestrian experience.

The Culture Mile initiative aspires to unify this diverse district into a singular cultural destination, introducing a cohesive pedestrian environment activated with arts programming. The comprehensive development strategy includes architectural lighting design expertise by SEAM to bring the urban realm to life at night.

An urban lighting audit by SEAM led to proposals for key enhancements to circulation and placemaking. Illumination to vertical connections draws activation to the Barbican’s podium levels, while prominent concrete surfaces host timely digital projections to signal events programmes from the world-leading cultural institutions clustered here.

Proposals for strategic facade lighting reveal the architectural beauty of the historic Smithfield Market at night, transforming its presence from an industrial worksite to a key district landmark. From brutalist concrete streetscapes and Victorian listed buildings, the unique textures and details of the rich local architectural palette are highlighted to offer orientation and navigation. The goal is a clear strategy for strong civic identity and local character to emerge.

The study identifies realistic and affordable ways to make the area more accessible and enjoyable for its workers, residents and visitors, while raising local business revenue, and elevating the City of London’s global profile as a destination for culture.

Images
SEAM Design

Location
London, UK

Date
2018

Client
Tsujiri

Architect
MIMStudios

Tsujiri is a tea shop in London designed by MIMStudios with the inspiration from traditional Japanese art and architecture. With wood elements creating a simple and clean design, SEAM has provided indirect lights hidden inside the ceiling and joinery that emphasise the warm material palette in the room. Uplighting along the mezzanine creates a bright and cozy atmosphere for the seating area at the upper floor. 

Awards
2017 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards – Shortlisted

Photography
NAARO

Location
Southampton, UK

Status
Construction

Client
Maggie's Foundation

Architect
AL_A

In a forest clearing, a mirrored pavilion transports people to a place of safety and comfort. SEAM’s lighting will engender the interior spaces with a relaxing atmosphere, while the gardens glow during the evening hours, activating the reflective facade.

“This is a building which emerges from an apparently abstract plan with an almost ethereal clarity. The project imagines the haven of a garden transported from the New Forest into the midst of the hospital’s concrete landscape. This arboreal context and wild naturalistic topography offers seclusion and protection from the outside world.

Subtle, light and with a rainbow of colours from the garden, this is an exquisite design to lift the weight off the shoulders of all who visit and all who work in it.”

AL_A

Location
London, UK

Status
Competition – 2016
Shortlisted with Honourable Mention

Client
Illuminated River Foundation

Competition organiser
Malcolm Reading Consultants

Architect
AL_A

Landscape
GROSS MAX

Artist
Asik Kapadia

Playwright
Simon Stephens

In a broad sense the lighting tells the story about the Thames as a time piece, reconnecting people to the Thames in a meaningful way. It aims to become a visual mnemonic for people’s intuitive understanding of the river's tidal behaviour and the mysterious effects of moonrise and moonset. The use of a simple dynamic lighting system allows for scenes that shift light to elegantly illuminate bridges together with the banks as a continuous and luminous thread. In this performance, each individually controlled luminaire has a purpose, with a role in the choreography and composition of light with great sensitivity to flight paths of migrating birds, bats, even airplanes and the river habitat.

The duration between sunset and twilight is when attention to the sky shifts below the horizon to the river. Illumination slowly wanders up the river, as if chasing the sun, yet stays for the night when dusk settles in. At high tide, the elevations of the river walls and bridge fronts are illuminated with warm white light thereby creating a continuous band along the river. During the shift to low tide, attention is brought to the arched spaces between the water and bridge undercarriages, as a cool white illumination moves towards the middle of the river, as if filling the void of the tide rolling out to sea.

As the tidal flow recedes, a series of luminaires along the river walls light the foreshores creating a new night-time public space, drawing more people to the water’s edge and reclaiming its beaches. Instrumental to both of these modes is the reflective surface of the water, which doubles the lighting effect and completes each scenario.

These are the bold stories – poetic, ephemeral, technological and meaningful – we wish to unfold through intricate and well-considered lighting as a symbol of London's unifying diversity and a beacon for progressive sustainability.

Awards
2016 Malcolm Reading Competition – Shortlisted, Honourable Mention

Location
London, UK

Date
2011

Client
American Hardwood Export Council
London Design Festival

Architect
AL_A

Team
Arup

Lighting sponsor
iGuzzini

AL_A's design for Timber Wave set out to explore the limits of material strength of the wood as well as the fabrication method to create a 12m high, red-oak sculptural archway at the main entrance of the V&A museum for the London Design Festival 2011. The challenge for us as lighting designer was to create an iconographic identity for the entrance at night with little or no budget. Minimalist in means, yet grand in its result, our solution allowed the light to pass through the arch to create an intricate set of patterns on the facade, beautifully unifying the composition for a powerful identity at night and a new experience for the visitor.

"... a demonstration of the power of collaboration, of what can be achieved when some of the best imaginative, analytical, and practical minds come together to create something that is at the limits of the possible."

Awards
2012 Wood Awards – Judges’ Special Award
2012 D&AD Awards – Spatial Design/Installation

Photography
London Design Festival
Dennis Gilbert
Tom Lorton

Location
Chester, UK

Status
Ongoing – commenced 2016

Client
Cheshire West & Chester Council

Architect
ACME

Landscape
Vogt Landscape Architects

Access
David Bonnett Associates

As part of Chester's £300m investment into the city centre revitalisation, SEAM is providing lighting design services for ACME's ambitious vision for a vibrant retail-led mixed-use development. Planning was awarded in September 2016. Working together with multiple architects and separate design teams, SEAM has provided lighting design services that work to create cohesiveness across the site while featuring the unique characteristics of the various architectural designs. The first phase of works comprises a new cinema and theatre district.

Images
Acme

Location
London, UK

Date
2016

Clients
London Design Festival
MINI

Architect
Asif Khan Architects

Team
Conservatory Archives
Aldworth James & Bond

Lighting sponsor
iGuzzini

Asif Khan's Forests installation for London Design Festival 2016 explores the idea of 'third places' in the city. Three pavilions – Connect, Create and Relax – are located within walking distance of one another. Their clear material language creates a deliberate contrast to Shoreditch's urban setting. They are all rectangular forms, with walls made from several layers of transparent, corrugated polycarbonate.

The challenge for the lighting was to create an object which could, from the outside, compete with the bustling night life and urban environment that is Shoreditch. Whilst internally staying true to the concept of living spaces, the pavilions are treated as extensions of our personal space, being completely removed from the chaos of London life.

"In our modern urban society where the time in-between work and home are important contact points, these third places help us relax, increase our productivity and invite meet-ups." - Design Boom

Photography
London Design Festival

Location
London, UK

Date
2016

Clients
American Hardwood Export Council
London Design Festival

Architect
Alison Brooks Architects

Team
Arup
ZÜBLIN Timber

Lighting sponsors
Atrium
MCI Grupo

Alison Brooks Architects' design for the 2016 London Design Festival’s official Landmark Project presents a cross-laminated tulipwood structure, set in the Parade Ground of Chelsea College of Arts in London for four weeks. Touching the ground at a single point, the 34m-long, curved, hollow tube showcases the structural potential of American tulipwood.

Awards
2017 Wood Awards – Structural Award
2017 Wood Awards – Small Architecture – Shortlisted
2017 Architizer A+ Awards – Pavilions

Photography
Courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects

Location
Anchorage, Alaska

Date
2012

Design
BALMOND / STUDIO

Designed by BALMOND / STUDIO for the Alaska Crime Lab, Snow Words is a light art installation – an abstracted time piece derived from prime-number and code sequences. SEAM was appointed to provide lighting design and technical services for the project.

The sculpture comprises 24 poles with 206 light units. The light units are individually addressed with core-facing and perimeter-facing light sources separately controlled to allow movement of light within the sculpture itself. The light sculpture is also calibrated to its location and context to respond to extreme changes and variations of light throughout the year.

Snow Words is recognised by the Public Art Network’s 2013 Year In Review as one of the most compelling and outstanding works across the United States.

"LED lights power the light bars that are symbolic code for forensic research, investigative tracts, relentless pursuit..." - Balmond / Studio

Awards
2013 Public Art Network – Top 50 Public Works of Art

Photography
Devki RajGuru

Location
London, UK

Date
2019

Client
Izaki Group Investments

Architects
Fletcher Priest Architects
ODA

Landscape
Alexandra Steed / URBAN

Situated in the heart of Shoreditch, Long & Waterson is a residential refurbishment, extension and new build that creates a new garden oasis in the middle of one of London’s most intensely creative neighbourhoods. The project includes a central landscaped garden designed by the award-winning Alexandra Steed / URBAN, which is framed by refurbished workshop buildings and the newly built Waterson Building.

SEAM has designed the lighting for all front-of-house areas, including landscape, reception, lounge, gym and spa facilities, apartments and penthouse suites. Our approach focuses on the quality of the architecture and landscape, taking cues from the original Long Street Workshops’ craft heritage and allowing the light sources themselves to become an integral part of the craft vocabulary and uniqueness of the development.

"London's coolest new address" - Long & Waterson

Images
Courtesy of Izaki Group Investments

Location
London, UK

Date
2016

Client
Nido Student Living

Architect
Tigg + Coll Architects

Lighting design plays a major part in complementing the raw material palette and quirky character of Nido Spitalfields, a new high-end skyscraper for student accommodation in the heart of the City of London. At 33 stores, it is one of the tallest student residences in the world, proudly offering all the amenities for student life including a library, gallery cafe and shop. Focussing strategically on the main conceptual drive of creating an informal relaxed space serving the creative needs of young students, SEAM worked closely with Tigg+Coll architects to produce a highly diversified lighting scheme that supports a variety of functions.

Photography
Andy Matthews

Location
London, UK

Date
2012

Client
Private

Architect
Gianni Botsford Architects

Interior
Chiara Ferrari Studio

Breathing a second life into a Grade II-listed residence is sensitively executed in this well-balanced architectural play between historic elements and modern enhancements. This attitude of optimising the potential is carried through the lighting, where a custom home system provides easy control of the tailored scheme. Working in collaboration with Gianni Botsford Architects, ME Construction, Chiara Ferrari Studio, and Winters Electrical, SEAM provided full lighting design services from concept to completion with final aiming and focusing for this five-level residence located in Marylebone. Special features of the residence include a bespoke modern kitchen, feature glass and steel stair, feature light sculpture set within the original listed staircase, new-build garden room, and roof terrace.

Photography
Edmund Sumner

Location
Sydney, Australia

Status
Ongoing – commenced 2017

Client
QIC
Seventh Wave

Architects
UNStudio
Universal Design Studio
Buchan Group

Executive lighting partner
PointOfView

Just outside of Sydney, SEAM is collaborating with the award-winning architectural practices UN Studio and Universal Design Studio on a long-awaited expansion to the Castle Towers Mall. This massive urban-renewal development remodels the existing retail centre in concert with extensive new leisure and retail-led development zones to create a stunning new destination for Castle Hill.

With the aspiration of creating a unique world-class destination, the designers challenge the standard retail typology of inside malls and have created a dynamic spatial arrangement where interior and exterior environments flow seamlessly together.

The development comprises four zones that are continuously connected across multiple levels linking new and existing areas spanning a site more than half a kilometre in length. Visitors can wander distinct design districts detailed with unique architectural character. Zone 1 brings the existing mall into the 21st century with extensive refurbishment and modernisation. The bright and ambient atmosphere of Zone 2 is created around a central multi-storey atria that is filled with natural and artificial light. Central Mall provides a strategic multi-level link from Zone 2 to the streets of Zone 3 through a contemporary space reminiscent of Scandinavian modernism. With the bustle of the city as design inspiration, Zone 3 showcases shop fronts designed as facades and malls as streets; materials and detailing provide a consistent impression of being outdoors. The lighting designs adopt this expressive urban aesthetic proposing robust exposed fittings with authentic metal finishes.

The different atria are each designed with theatrical lighting infrastructures to host performances, while outdoor dining is set within extensively landscaped areas designed as night gardens. Spanning 180m from east to west, visitors move through the East Village’s vertical facades and green walls to the cascade of horizontal terraces to the north that look out towards the distant Blue Mountains.

Images
Hill News

Location
London, UK

Date
2015

Client
London Design Festival

Architect
Grafton Architects

Team
Graphic Relief
Irish Design 2015
Millimetre

Lighting sponsor
TM Lighting

Light emphasises the exquisite texture of Grafton Architects’ concrete monoliths but builds drama in the in-between spaces, enhancing the experience of the exhibit and the presence of the artwork. Typically these moments are lost in galleries where objects alone are the subject of interest.

Unveiled in the V&A’s Tapestries Room as part of London Design Festival 2015, each three-meter tall concrete fin relates to a letter in the Ogham alphabet, and each letter symbolises a native Irish tree, calling to mind ancient Irish and British sites with standing stones, like Lettergorman in County Cork and Stonehenge in England.

The scheme aimed to achieve maximum effect while insuring the conservation of the highly sensitive surrounding tapestries.

"The impact creates a multi-layered immersive experience that invites visitors to engage with the tactile surfaces, which vary in texture, temperature and colour." - Domus

Photography
Ed Reeve

Location
Bangkok, Thailand

Date
2014

Client
Central Pattana

Architects
Synthesis Design + Architecture
A49
Foundry of Space

Landscape
Trop Design

The Central World Expansion is a new retail centre with upscale food and beverage outlets, designed by the London- and Los Angeles-based Synthesis Design + Architecture, for Central Pattana (CPN) corporation. As a new icon for a well-established retailer in Southeast Asia, the new building is designed as a sculptural feature, giving CPN presence on the main shopping avenue along Ploenchit Road – the former Central World shopping centre was set back from the main touristic traffic.

New lighting technologies are incorporated into the architect’s perforated cladding system. For the interiors, integrated lighting features the organic surfaces of rich materials that clad and hide the bulkhead services and storefront systems that feature the individual retail tenants. The geometry of the open retail circulation is based on vortices derived from an analysis of pedestrian flow, serving to connect the main routes from street level and the BTS elevated rail to the existing Central World shopping centre. Within these vortices are areas for rest, events and performances that attract activity and increase dwell time.

"The client wanted their new courtyard to be 'Talk of the town', in terms of commercial activities and Wow effect, in order to compete with their competitors, other High-end malls in the area." - ArchDaily

Photography
Synthesis Design + Architecture

Location
Cairo, Egypt

Date
2009–ongoing

Client
Rooya Group

Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Landscape
GROSS MAX

Wayfinding
SpaceAgency

SEAM’s unique lighting design solutions support the signature architectural identity of this expansive masterplanned mixed-use development in Cairo. Comprising 18 corporate towers, a luxury hotel, two levels of underground car parking, and a landscaped public realm with five retail clusters, the extensive 21-hectare site is set to become a regional economic and cultural hub.

SEAM has designed the lighting for all public areas, including the feature facades and atria of all towers, plus facade lighting for the five-star hotel. The intricate centralised landscape ‘The Delta’ additionally provides the opportunity to integrate lighting into landscape design and develop intuitive wayfinding strategies with the use of lighting and bespoke signage.

The lighting strategy for Stone Towers starts at the urban scale – understanding the multiple identities of a large mixed-use development, its varying perceptions on approach, and the complex movements – and proceeds through a hierarchy of architectural spatial systems that encompass the entirety of the site. While achieving aesthetic fluidity, SEAM’s lighting carefully considers the complex dynamics of the various participants through the site, supporting these dynamic relationships functionally through light.

"Inspired by the patterns and textures of ancient Egyptian stonework, the north and south facades of each tower will be covered with recesses and protrusions emphasising the effects of light and shadow on the surfaces." - Dezeen

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects
SEAM Design

Location
London, UK

Date
2015

Client
ECM Holdings

Design
Jasmine Gokmen
Margot Tsim
Kreado Design

Kouzu is the stunning new contemporary Japanese restaurant in Belgravia led by celebrity Chef Kyoichi Kai. Housed in a grand 19th-century Grade II-listed building, Kouzu is steps away from Buckingham Palace Garden. Set across three levels of exquisitely designed interior, designers Jasmine Gokmen, Margot Tsim and Kreado Design turned a corporate office and former bank into a flagship dining experience for London’s first Omakase restaurant recognised by Michelin Guides in 2016 as a premiere culinary destination.

The lighting design by SEAM fuses modern and historic elements into a sophisticated composition, complementing the cuisine with an intimately memorable atmosphere and experience – whether a guest in the bar lounge, the sushi bar and restaurant seating on the mezzanine, or the master chef’s table in the private dining room in the lower ground with the intimate backdrop of artisan chefs bustling in the main kitchen. Throughout the restaurant, illumination is designed to create a perfect stage for the Chef’s performance where guests can see and experience the artistry of beautifully crafted culinary masterpieces.

Future plans include exterior lighting for the Grade II-listed facade for which SEAM’s architectural designers and lighting designers attained planning approval on the client’s behalf.

Location
London, UK

Date
2013

Client
American Hardwood Export Council
London Design Festival

Architect
dRMM

Team
NUSSLI
Arup

Lighting sponsor
Lumenpulse

Like a folly in the landscape, the Endless Stair by dRMM has evolved from "an Escher-like game of perception and circulation", where composition and social possibilities meet. The lighting design and strategy promotes these various interactions by enhancing the juxtapositional relationships of surface/solid, solid/void, and disorientation/configuration, through the use of carefully placed and aimed luminaires provided by Lumenpulse. The lighting controls and sequencing enhance particular features to express these juxtapositions, creating an interactive play between the physical structure and the ephemeral nature of light.

"The landmark project was one of the highlights for this year's festival and one of London's most captivating destinations for the duration of its opening." - AHEC

Awards
2014 Wood Awards – Judges’ Special Award

Photography
James Newton

Location
London, UK

Date
2015

Client
London Design Festival

Artist
Alex Chinneck

Lighting sponsor
OSRAM

A Bullet for a Shooting Star was unveiled as the headline installation for London Design Festival 2015. Set in the Greenwich peninsula among other architectural landmarks, the upturned electrical pylon creates a crisp silhouette against the sky. Alex Chinneck's proposal in the form of an inverted electric pylon drew us to themes like celestial bodies, the works of Nicola Tesla, lighting and electricity, all of which inspired our design concepts for illumination of the sculpture.

Our challenge for the lighting design was to enhance the sculpture's legibility and presence at night. A ten-minute progressive sequence reveals the sober lines of the sculpture's silhouette by gradually filling the pylon with white light before it plumes with deep oranges and fades into the night sky. The colour is reminiscent of molten steel which simultaneously recalls how the sculpture was forged as well as a nod to the site's industrial history.

"Illuminated at night, the work acts as a literal beacon and will project a maze of latticed shadows." - Now Gallery

Photography
David Cabrera
OSRAM

Location
London, UK

Date
2018

Client
London Design Biennale

Curator
Mohamed Elshahed

Exhibition design
Lund Gaballa Architects

Team
Westby & Jones
Ahmed Tahoun
Valerie Arif

Every two years, the London Design Biennale brings an international programme to the city’s grand, Grade I-listed Somerset House arts institution, to coincide with the annual, city-wide London Design Festival. For the 2018 Biennale, the temporary exhibition Egypt: Modernist Indignation now unearths the north-African country’s lesser-famous, contemporary architecture.

A freestanding, minimalist metal structure organises the two-room show, complete with concrete plinths and assorted wall displays. Linear LEDs mount to the bespoke frame’s bars, forming sheets of light that emphasise the suspended graphics and information while strengthening the visitor’s navigation through the collection. The venue’s existing spotlights are also enlisted, to highlight the podia and perimeter exhibits.

All lamps are tuned to harmonise with the ambient daylight that gently permeates the building’s historic, neoclassical interior.

Awards
2018 London Design Biennale – Medal for Most Outstanding Overall Contribution

Production
Zein Khalifa / TINTERA
Cairobserver

Support
Orascom Developments
Pharos Holding for Financial Investments
Barjeel Art Foundation
British Council
Mrs. Sherine Sawiris
Mrs. Cherine Helmy

Photography
Courtesy of Lund Gaballa Architects

Location
London, UK

Date
2018

Client
London Design Festival

Artist
Henrik Vibskov

Collaborators
Danish Arts Foundation
Danish Ministry of Culture
Embassy of Denmark, London

Lighting sponsor
TM Lighting

Onion Farm is an engaging and playful installation by Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov as part of the 2018 London Design Festival, in the V&A museum’s Tapestry Room.

From the inspiration of "growing something in the dark, as if underground", SEAM worked together with TM Lighting to provide dramatic lighting; to invite visitors to engage with the installation of playful colours and textures of red textile onions, composed with spiny and prickly brushes. Spotlights from TM Lighting are located at the existing tracks of the Tapestry Room ceiling and adjusted to the Onion Farm to create a play of shadow and light on the floor. These compositions of projected shadows are overlaid along the outer part of the installation to create additional patterns on the floor, increasing the presence of the sculpture within the Tapestry Room.

The gallery requires low-level light to protect the priceless 15th-century tapestries. Additional lights for the sculpture were carefully aimed towards the central spine of the room and away from the tapestries to maintain sufficient levels of light. Contrast ratios of 1:3 were targeted, to allow for Onion Farm to be featured, while maintaining legibility of the tapestries in a differently lit environment for the duration of the festival.

Photography
Andy Stagg

Location
London, UK

Date
2015

Client
Disegno Magazine

Curator
Riya Patel, Aram Gallery

Exhibition designer
Universal Design Studio

As our planet teeters toward a catastrophic two-degree temperature rise, Disegno Magazine enlists ten disciplines to together empower the public climate debate.

Entitled 2°C: Communicating Climate Change, ten designers exhibit models, photography, graphics and objects across ten identical booths, collectively installed into the Aram Gallery in the Covent Garden area of central London.

SEAM supported the curator and exhibition designer to specify and install the display booths’ luminaires.

This temporary exhibition gathered original works by Dominic Wilcox, Ilona Gaynor, Maria Blaisse, Marjan van Aubel, Ross Lovegrove, Neri&Hu, Parsons & Charlesworth, PearsonLloyd, Sam Baron, and Universal Design Studio.

Photography
Courtesy of Universal Design Studio

Location
London, UK

Date
2014

Clients
London Design Festival
BMW

Design
Barber & Osgerby

Team
Arup
Millimetre Design
ETC

As part of the 2014 London Design Festival, Barber & Osgerby's Double Space installation for BMW features two huge mirror structures suspended in the grand, barrel-vaulted Raphael Gallery of London’s historic V&A museum. The Raphael cartoons themselves are reflected and distorted in these panels as they slowly rotate above visitors.

As the installation takes on the richness of the surrounding paintings and architecture, SEAM's strategy focuses the lighting on the surrounding cartoons, adding depth and dimension to the experience. The curators’ response was exuberant in excitement at the drama created by revealing, for the first time, the depth of colour in the artworks.

This architectural lighting was made possible through the LED framing projectors provided by ETC, whose colour rendering provided optimal illumination without degradation to the priceless works of art.

Photography
London Design Festival

Location
Dubai, UAE

Date
2010

Client
EMAAR Group

Developer EMAAR Group invites SEAM to Dubai, to review the lighting and architectural design of the Dubai Mall, set within the Downtown Dubai development zone.

The lighting and architectural assessment takes into consideration the existing design, pedestrian flows, key views, and analysis. SEAM provided lighting design strategies and recommendations to reduce visual clutter and create a more comfortable retail environment, with proposed improvements to the installed lighting systems, lighting controls and light balance.

Location
London, UK

Date
2017

Client
London Design Festival

Artist
Ross Lovegrove

Fabricator
Alcantara

Lighting sponsor
TM Lighting

Transmission is a long, fluid sculpture of folded material by artist Ross Lovegrove for the 2017 London Design Festival. The installation is a response to the historic narratives of the surrounding tapestries and the atmosphere that the V&A’s Tapestry Room creates. These tapestries, made circa 1425-1450, are a rare survival of high-brow art of that time, and are among the museum's greatest treasures. Lovegrove artistically interprets these prized works into the soft undulating folds of the installation.

SEAM’s purpose is to enhance the stories of the Tapestry Room and Transmission through the use of light, and to let light be another narrative medium. The challenge is how to feature a centrepiece while connecting it with the tapestries to create an art environment. Sensitive art-conservation LED spotlights with high colour rendering were chosen, which can be fitted with various accessories and filters to create a ‘light curtain’ across the looped edges of the sculpture, to create a continuous ribbon occupying the length of the Tapestry Room.

Photography
Alcantara

Location
Accra, Ghana

Status
Ongoing – commenced 2017

Team
Metonym Design
Ramboll
Theatre Projects

This ambitious vision – with architectural lighting design by SEAM – brings a state-of-the-art performance pavilion to Ghana, to help create a new venue to herald the design and performance excellence of Africa.

Learn more on Vimeo

Images
Metonym Design

Location
Doha, Qatar

Status
Competition – 2012

Architect
ACME

Engineer
AKT II

As part of the expansive Lusail masterplan in Qatar, developers sought the creative vision of international design practices to create a pedestrian bridge connecting the Corniche Souq on the Qetaifan Islands. As one of the selected designers, ACME invited SEAM to join their competition team and develop a site-specific architectural lighting design that would create an iconic landmark along the waterfront.

The architecturally ingenious structure consists of two interlaced forms that merge to create a unique destination where shopping and leisure environments blend together generating a new synergy that evolves daily from early evening to late night.

The structure of the bridge is a series of concrete arches that work in conjunction with a system of intersecting concrete walls to create meandering pedestrian paths across the span of the bridge. A new modern souq shopping experience knits together spaces for pedestrian views with movement back into the waterfront context.

At the scale of the landscape, light is used as a cohesive visual element that unifies the form by articulating the repetition of arches as an expressive linear stroke. Internally, diffuse indirect lighting is used to create a lantern-like glow at night.

Images
ACME
SEAM Design

Location
Damascus, Syria

Status
Design

Client
Majid Al Futtaim Group

Architect
ACME

Ornate facades, adorned with arabesque stonework patterns, are unified under a bespoke roof canopy structure. SEAM was appointed to the ACME-led team to design the lighting for this unique visitor's gallery and showroom, located at the Khams Shamat Master Development, just outside Damascus.

The project comprises four pavilions that are arranged around feature courtyards to celebrate the five ‘beauty mark’ ancient cities of Greater Syria: Aleppo, Antioch, Damascus, Jerusalem and Tiberias. The pavilions provide exhibition galleries, administrative offices, an auditorium, executive offices, and lounge spaces. SEAM’s lighting scope covers all interior and exterior public areas, including the feature facades.

Images
SEAM Design
ACME

Location
New York, US

Client
Taiwanese Consulate

Architects
Jeffrey McKean Architecture
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects

Fulfilling the aspiration to create a prestigious new address in Manhattan, the Taiwanese Consulate is a renovated corporate office building, and home to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. SEAM provided lighting design services for the public areas and for the typical office floor lighting, from concept through to construction.

A defining architectural statement is created in the grand double-height atrium, where a custom feature wall provides a flexible exhibit display for curating cultural artefacts. The atrium’s lighting system is multi-modal, allowing the atrium to double as a special-event performance space that opens into art galleries at the ground and mezzanine levels. Theatrical performance lighting and architectural lighting are integrated into the lower-ground-floor auditorium, including illuminated ‘skylights’ that shine through the atrium floor above.

A world-class working environment and private offices are created across the upper levels.

Photography
Jeffrey McKean Architecture

Location
Beirut, Lebanon

Date
2013

Client
Majid Al Futtaim Group

Architects
ACME
Samir Khairallah & Partners
DesignInc

Landscape
Francis Landscapes

City Centre Beirut – a development by Majid Al Futtaim – is a large, USD 300m retail complex comprising over 60,000m2 of retail space to house 200 stores, located in Beirut's Hazmieh district. SEAM, as the specialist lighting designer, joined an international design team led by Samir Khairallah Partnership of Beirut, alongside London-based ACME for the feature roof-light design, with DesignInc for the food and beverage outlets. The project provides a world-class shopping and leisure experience in Lebanon.

Images
ACME

Location
St Tropez, France

Status
Design – undertaken 2013

Design
BALMOND / STUDIO

The James Bond Room light sculpture is a bespoke architectural feature-ceiling installation by BALMOND / STUDIO for a hotel in St Tropez. The sculpture’s lighting design involves the simulation and interaction between light and the modules of dichroic panels, to create varying atmospheres, settings and sequences.

The project explores movement, and the resultant colour of light through a floating modulated ceiling, using the variables of angle, position, and proximity of the light source to the panel, with DMX controls for sequencing, dimming and input/output interactivity. SEAM has also designed the architectural lighting and controls for the room as a multi-purpose event space.

Images
SEAM Design

Location
Hangzhou, China

Status
Competition – 2012

Architect
Zaha Hadid Architects

Engineer
BuroHappold

As part of the invited team for a limited international design competition, Zaha Hadid Architects invited SEAM to collaborate on a new pedestrian bridge for the Golden Silver Lake Development in Hangzhou. Tasked with technical and feature lighting design, SEAM proposed architectural lighting as a central feature of the design proposal.

Leaping from the southern shore, the bridge bounds gracefully over the watercourse and only touches down once on a small island park before meeting the opposite shore. The lighting proposal expands the visual impact of the sinuous form by avoiding all lighting poles and utilising fully integrated lighting. Warm and cool colour temperatures amplify the experience by enhancing the materials - warm toned finishes on the inner surfaces invite pedestrians to journey over blue reflections on the water below, enhanced by façade lighting to the undercarriage of the bridge in cool light.

An interactive lighting system creates a fluid interaction between nature and people. Sensors capture dynamic motion and activities around the bridge – from pedestrian movements to environmental inputs such as wind, water flow and time – and repurpose this data into a complex feature lighting sequence over the course of the night.

Images
Zaha Hadid Architects

Location
Europe

Date
2012

Client
Pandora

For this international jewellery manufacturer and retailer, SEAM has provided lighting design for a typical retail store concept, with production of accompanying brand lighting design guidelines.