Grant Thornton House in Cardiff is part of Desg™’s plan to reimagine what a workplace can be. Desg™ combines design principles with curiosity, it aims to be a model for stylish, balanced and mindful environments where companies and individuals can work, meet and share ideas in a safe, considered way.

Its Pontcanna building is lined with picture windows. By day, they create a visual gateway out to Llandaff Fields, connecting workers with one of Cardiff’s most expansive green spaces. At dusk, the windows glow with interior life beyond the 9-5, including wellbeing activities, socialising or the option to work into the night with 24-hour access for members.

Inside there are two floors of hot-desks, co-working spaces and private offices, bookable meeting rooms and its large events space. Sound-proofed pods have been beautifully crafted with wood strip decorative Acupanels, and no-distraction phone booths offer an extra quiet option.

Terracotta tiled floors pave a bright and sunny path throughout the building, while beautiful Foresso® recycled worktops and plant-filled centrepieces are among the many appealing details. Gym and showers, members-only lounge, large kitchen, and seating areas for relaxing, are all integral to the setting that has been created to help you feel your best and be your most productive.

Working for Desg™ and Hitchings Electrical Ltd, Dextra was asked to design and provide lighting for a project to refurbish the space and create flexible, functional and inviting office spaces for clients.

THE SOLUTION

Used on this project was Dextra’s Runway Surface/Suspended. This popular luminaire provides a slim line appearance with an extruded aluminium housing available in three colour options, offering the versatility of a range of lengths and lumen outputs as well as bi-directional variants ensuring that you can create a layout that enhances any space.

Also installed was the Pro-light Mini Fixed. This luminaire, developed as part of a family including Fixed, Gimbal, Wallwash and Scoop luminaires that are available in both circular and square formats.

Chosen for its premium quality, the BTEC downlight has high quality LEDs and drivers, excellent efficiency and a 5-year warranty, whilst still suiting those on a more restricted budget.

Alongside this, the BTEC Secure was installed. This luminaire has been tested and certified to comply with the requirements of the Department of Health Environmental Design Guide, Adult Medium Secure Services, for use in secure applications where care must be taken to ensure that vulnerable patients are at minimal risk of harm.

Ideal for office buildings, the Protec is the most versatile downlight in the range with a selection of attachments allowing the product to be personalised to suit most applications. Attachments are easily replaced allowing luminaires to be updated in line with refurbishment avoiding the cost and waste of luminaire replacement.

Also used on the project was the Comtec Surface. This luminaire is ideal for solid ceilings or where there is insufficient ceiling void for a recessed luminaire.

Elsewhere in the building, Dextra’s Amenity Plus Circular was chosen for its strength and durability.

Dextra’s Amenity Exterior Open was also installed in the building along with the Amenity Exterior Eyelid, both suited to a wide range of internal and external applications whilst maintaining an attractive and modern appearance.

Used on the exit doors and routes were the AME LED, which is an IP65 LED self-contained polycarbonate bulkhead and the popular EXI2 LED, a slim line polycarbonate emergency exit sign supplied with prewired cable suitable for surface mounting and available in both standard and Self test variants.

These were used alongside the HBE2 LED and LED4-also popular and highly versatile exit signs designed to suit nearly all emergency exit applications.

The sensors used on this project were the REAF 7 6A LL, REAF 7 10A LL and REAS 7 6A LL.