Modern Solutions for Iconic Spaces

ABOVE PHOTO: Courtesy of LIGHTING DESIGN INTL. (LDI)/Harrods

WHEN IT COMES to very large luxury stores, Harrods in London is an international institution that also happens to be in a league of its own as far as size is concerned: This is the biggest department store in the United Kingdom.

Dating from the mid-19th century, this is a highly elaborate store – it is listed as a historic building, and large parts of it cannot be touched. Its recently remodeled lingerie department, located on the first floor, was one of these parts.

“The new lingerie department is housed within an area of the store that features decorative ceilings that are of historic significance,” says Graham Rollins, Lead Designer at London-based Lighting Design International (LDI), the London-based consultancy that worked on the project.

The 16,000-square-foot space (that has been enlarged nearly 50 percent) features low ceilings on which elaborate moldings and pillars help define the space. As a listed building, what is there needs to be worked around. “In order to ensure these ceilings were not disturbed or altered, we designed a suspended solution to allow flexible spotlighting to both the garments and the intricate architecture itself,” says Rollins.

this image: Using suspended tracks, hanging fixtures and recessed lighting, the illumination in the renovated lingerie department highlights the store’s historic decoration.

In addition, the lingerie department has no access to natural daylight, meaning that lighting, and how it is used, must be the starting point to create an appropriate ambience. Harrods worked with LDI to create an interior in which the keynote to be struck would be warmth. Practically, this has meant a bespoke suspended track solution using spotlights to give an overall softness to the floor and its displays while using additional up-spots to highlight the decorative nature of the ceiling.

Then there is how the lighting is integrated into the signage on the hanging rails and around the bases of the perimeter hanging fixtures, adding a layer of depth to the lighting scheme. “The warm lighting creates a relaxed ambience, inviting shoppers to unwind rather than feeling like they’re in a typical retail environment,” says Rollins.

This is the case here as a core part of Harrods has a new lease of life.

John Ryan

John Ryan is a journalist covering the retail sector, a role he has fulfilled for more than a decade. As well as being the European Editor of VMSD magazine, he writes for a broad range of publications in the U.K., the U.S. and Germany with a focus on in-store marketing, display and layout, as well as the business of store architecture and design. In a previous life, he was a buyer for C&A, based in London and then Düsseldorf, Germany. He lives and works in London.