“Everything that’s been done is subtle to let the architecture sing and the lighting feel original when in fact it’s very much supplemented. It’s incredibly sensitive.” —Juror Andrew Franz, AIA
When it came to renovating London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, a historically protected structure dating to 1810, lighting designers at BPD made honoring the building’s origins their top priority. After studying 19th-century architect Benjamin Wyatt’s original plans for the theater, for instance, the team worked to recreate period fixtures—in one case, scanning an antique lantern to generate 3D prints and molds from which a blacksmith could cast modern replicas. Artisans also leaned on historically accurate methods to hand-blow and cut glass lenses and diffusers.
That’s not to say the project doesn’t feature some modern touches. New concealed fixtures help wash ceilings and illuminate artwork, while pendants updated with what the designers describe as “pencil-thin, narrow beam optics” ensure that each seat has adequate light for theatergoers to read a program. Per the request of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who financed the renovation, the team also installed low-level LEDs along the staircase to mimic the appearance of candlelight.
Philip Vile
Philip Vile
Philip Vile
Tom Niven
Tom Niven
Philip Vile
Philip Vile
Philip Vile
Tom Niven
Philip Vile
Philip Vile
PROJECT CREDITS
Project Name: Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Location: Covent Garden, London
Client/Owner: LW Theatres
Lighting Designers: BDP, London. Jono Redden; Colin Ball
Architect: Haworth Tompkins
Project Size: 1,220m² across 7 floors
Project Cost: £60M
Lighting Cost: £2.5M
Watts per Square Foot: 0.8
Code Compliance: UK Building Regs Part L, British Standards 12464
Lighting Product Manufacturers: TM Lighting; Sugg; Dernier & Hamlyn; Wilkinson; Flos
This article first appeared in the January/Febuary 2023 issue of ARCHITECT.
