Speirs + Major were invited by Fletcher Priest architects to help transform one of the City of London’s prime business destinations.

Devonshire Square is a modern estate with a unique historical past. Close to London’s Liverpool Street station, this group of 18th-century buildings was once the warehouses of the East India Company. Today they offer a rare glimpse of London’s surviving commercial heritage.

Light would play a strategic role in transforming this site after dark. The brief was to promote the estate as a business attraction; activate the site after working hours; highlight period features; and safeguard the original architecture.

Part of the challenge was to create a sense of comfort in a cavernous space overlooked by 18th century warehouses. To define a more intimate volume, Speirs + Major designed custom light pieces for the site. Ten cylindrical pendants provide a soft, warm glow of light without creating clutter on the floor or compromising the architecture. The pendants make the restaurants the focal point of the courtyard, providing the practical lighting for diners and lending a human scale to an otherwise lofty space.

The pendants were conceived in two layers – a course steel outer layer that corresponds to the rough industrial heritage of the buildings and a finer bronze mesh core that complements the dining atmosphere below. The slender form of the pendants responds to the tall, thin section of the courtyard space. The uplighting of the inner cylinder produces a candle-like appearance with the impression enhanced by dimmable tungsten halogen lamps to allow very warm colour temperatures. The ‘candles’ have been designed as much for their daytime appearance as their lighting properties.

The pendants were designed and manufactured in collaboration with custom specialists Mike Stoane Lighting, UK.