A custom up-light for a bush residence, NSW
Markham-Lee Architecture spent a good portion of 2018 delivering the rejuvenation of a timber house connected to the hillside of Little Lovett Bay at Pittwater, NSW. The house was designed by Richard Leplastrier and built in the 1980’s, and at each stage of our involvement in the project, Matt Markham-Lee would observe a given element in light of how it could preserve the house’s original form. “Retaining the idea”, he said.
Internal timber uprights are removed from the walls by 45mm and, at hip-height, where a shelf skirts the perimeter of the room, there are small up-lights concealed behind each column.
During the perfunctory ‘back-and-forthing’ phase of lesser ideas and the not-quite-rights, we stumbled across some very small form-factor 35° 2700K recessed down lights out in the workshop, a legacy of the Lighting Matters days. We thought these could be set into a rectangular fascia made from a complimenting timber, bridge the gap left by the departed bakelite B15 lamp holders and mate well enough with the surrounding architecture.
Of the many benefits of sharing a space with a half-decent timber furniture maker of rural Australian origin (product collaboration, big tool access, noninfectious approach to tidiness, general industriousness, occasional 3:30pm beer etc.) the most valuable is the hoard of beautiful timber off-cuts that he won’t know you’ve stolen until he sees them turned into something. By then it’s too late to protest, not that he ever would.
Stay tuned for photography of the installation.
Materials used:
- Tasmanian Blackwood (fascia)
- Vic ash (lower)
- LM-X3 downlight in 2700K with fascia powder-coated in black
- Dimmable constant 300mA LED drivers to power series-connected luminaires.
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