Otter Place. A Study in Domestic Illumination

Our aim is to design spaces which look and feel great, and are functionally responsive, enhancing everyday life. Lighting design is a crucial part of how we work towards this. Selection, specification and placement of architectural and decorative lighting is considered collectively, and in tandem with natural light sources, to create an adaptable strategy for illumination. All too often, the default solution of uniform downlights doesn’t take seasonal and contextual light into account, or allow for focused variation and surface illumination. On the other hand, more strategic lighting design can be used in a way that enhances the living experience.

In Otter Place, we’ve designed the lighting to reflect the way we would illuminate our own homes, taking cues from hotels and our work in the hospitality sector by lighting surfaces, planes or objects with considered sources. The type of fitting, beam angle and colour temperature are all specific to individual needs. Thinking about each of these elements means we can both create and support particular experiences, to set the scene. Whether it’s creating intimacy with a warm narrow beam of light, or enhancing internal ambient levels with uplights that reflect off the ceiling — we’re designing for choice and control. The ability to adjust, moderate and modulate gives residents the ability to work with lighting for different activities and hours of the day, and means the environment can be adapted to suit their lives — not the other way around.

(excerpt from Otter Place brochure by Studio HiHo)