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Galaad Chapel is an old Methodist Chapel situated in St Lawrence, Jersey. The building has recently undergone a complete internal re-build to convert this beautiful old church into a contemporary private dwelling.
LED Lighting Technology was approached by Tony Greenwood from Full Circle, the architects employed to mastermind the conversion. The task - to design a lighting scheme that will enhance this contemporary space adding an ambience to the property and to make the best use of colour to highlight the contemporary features of this ultra-modern space concealed within the walls of an ancient church.
In excess of 1000 LED's are used within the property to achieve stunning yet diverse effect using colour and white light to highlight key areas and to use this light to section the open-plan space into specific areas i.e. lounge, dining area, library, sun room etc
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| As you enter the Chapel through the original double doorway you are greeted by a curtain of white light forming an illuminated pathway across the lobby to the main entrance of the space. This effect is created by a total of eight in-ceiling down-lights fitted with narrow beam 3-watt LED modules in cool white.
As you look to your left your eyes become a wash of colour as you notice the fantastic glass sided staircase that takes you up to the two floors above. Sunken into the floor at the base of the stair column is an RGB 12-watt LED module that offers a slow seamless colour-change. The unit emits a spectrum of colour up the central stairwell illuminating the column and spraying light onto the glass stair panels before eventually adding a hint of colour to the high vaulted ceiling at the top of the Chapel.
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Additional white lighting is provided on the main staircase by a set of twelve stainless steel up/down lights fitted to the walls as you climb the stairs. These lights are each fitted with two 3-watt LED lamps in cool white and offer a brilliant wall wash effect (see photo gallery below).
To the right of the lobby is a washroom that gave the opportunity for us to use some interesting lighting effects. Along the floor adjacent to the wall is a trough that has been fitted with cool white LinkLED's. An assortment of pebbles have then been arranged on top of the LED's to hide the modules and also create some very interesting shadow patterns up the walls.
A one metre length of a very versatile self adhesive LED strip called FlexiSTRIP in a royal blue colour has been fitted to the underside of the wash hand basin. The powerful light emitted from the strip casts a stunning deep blue hue of colour throughout the washroom and also gives the optical illusion that the basin is floating in the air.
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As you move from the lobby into the main living space you are firstly greeted by an amazing display of colour as the large central wall feature seamlessly changes in colour before you. This effect is created with RGB linear strips that have been sunken into the floor. The units are fitted with special wall wash lenses and can project light for distances of up to twenty metres. In the centre of the wall feature is a display area this is fitted with a total of six 1-watt LED modules fitted with narrow beam lenses and adjustable chassis so that the narrow beams of light can be directed to items on display.
Moving through the lounge to the dining area you will see the dining table glowing in bright white shafts of light. Each of the eight place settings at the table has its own dedicated in-ceiling down-light that emits a very narrow beam of light, in addition a further three down-lights are fitted over the centre of the table to highlight table centres and serving plates.
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From the dining area turn to your left and you will find the library, situated to the opposite side of the main wall feature. In this area it was felt necessary to create a different ambience as it is to be used as a reading/chilling-out area. This section of the living space is lit with purely white LED light. Cool white LinkLED modules have been fitted into a sunken channel that runs around the three available sides of the central wall feature creating a stunning and intense yet soft and cool visual effect.
The Chapel benefits from retaining the original large Gothic arched windows down either side of the property but unfortunately, at some time in the past, the original stained glass has been replaced with normal clear glass. It was therefore decided to reinstate some of the stained glass but with a modern and contemporary twist. Two windows were designed and hand-crafted to fit the exact dimensions of the archways. Sandwiched between the original exterior window and the newly installed stained glass windows are cool white LED modules fitted with special letter-box lenses that enable the stunning colours and designs contained within the stained glass to be illuminated in the evening.
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High above the main living space is an open-plan minstrel gallery with access stairs situated either in the lobby or in the main living space. This gallery forms an interesting architectural feature linking the bedrooms and studies situated at each end of the building whilst retaining the open-plan essence of the space. Fitted into the ceiling over the gallery are two large glass panels that create an interesting view upwards into the master bedroom an similarly offer a spectacular view through the floor of the master bedroom down into the main body of the Chapel.
To create a dramatic effect in both the gallery area and master bedroom LinkLED modules in a royal blue colour have been fitted into a pelmet that surrounds the perimeter of the glass panels. The effect is spectacular with vast amounts of deep saturated colour illuminating the entire gallery area and spreading a rich blue hue up into the master bedroom.
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Moving to the sun room situated on the ground floor adjacent to the main living space and accessible via a small flight of stairs that are illuminated with several 1 watt flush fit LED modules in a cool white colour fitted into the corner of each stair tread.
The sun room offers an area completely segregated from the main living space, a very peaceful and tranquil place where you can sit and read, watch TV and look out over the garden. The room is fitted with a spectacular antique chandelier hanging from the centre of the room. To achieve a slightly different lighting effect small 1-watt LED modules have been fitted into the ceiling surrounding the chandelier. These units cast light through the framework of the chandelier creating interesting shadows throughout the room.
The room also features a stainless steel water feature set against a backdrop of mirrors. High-power LED down-lights have been installed into the ceiling in cool white and are used to highlight the water feature and create refractions off the metallic surface.
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We now move all the way up to the top of the property to find the master bathroom. This is probably one the most spectacular areas of the property with the bathroom and huge wet room entirely lit by LED. Firstly we have the exquisite his & hers wash hand basins that are illuminated by adjustable LED modules in cool white and fitted with very narrow lenses. The beams of light are directed into the centre of each basin illuminating the porcelain and creating a superb bounce-back of light.
To the right we find the sunken bathtub that is illuminated with a selection of 1-watt LED modules in a royal blue colour, these are IP67 rated for wet environments. The lights are also connected to a unique dimming system that enables the light intensity to be changed by the simple press of a button whilst sitting in the bathtub. Along the sides of the tub are small alcoves these are lit with cool white LED's which offer a contrast to the rich blue colours above the bathtub.
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The most amazing feature is the wet room which features over 100 colour-changing LED's. Linear strips that are IP68 rated and can be submerged underwater have been sunken into the floor directly underneath the thick glass screens that form the wet room walls. These units edge-light the glass with extremely powerful deep saturated colours bringing the glass panels to life in a hue of colour.
A further six IP68 rated modules have been sunken into the floor against the opposite wall of the wet room. Each module is fitted with a 3-watt RGB LED unit that emits a spray of light up the beautifully tiled walls and sloping ceiling. A special control system has been installed to this area enabling several different lighting effects to be programmed to suite the mood of the user. These can be anything from rich reds, blues, greens and magenta to give a relaxing feel to high intensity chases and pulsations to give an energetic and up-lifting early morning shower. All of the effects are controllable from an esthetically pleasing stainless steel control plate featuring simple push buttons to trigger the required mood lighting.
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Click on any of the photographs on this page to see larger images (image will open in a seperate window)
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