Process

Early engagement with the Client, Design team and Stakeholders ensures that the project requirements can be fully understood.  All prior work by others is researched and reviewed, followed by a visit to site by day and night to assess the existing lit context of the project.

Michael Grubb Studio works in close collaboration with our clients to produce the final Lighting Brief.  This is a pivotal part of the creative lighting design process allowing all parties the opportunity to reflect and develop the initial brief before progressing.

An initial Lighting Strategy is developed with key principles identified from the outset that consider the creative and functional role of the lighting.  Understanding the unique qualities of the project provides a catalyst for our imagination to explore how light can inspire and enhance the scheme.  Together with the Client, Design Team and Stakeholders we explore ideas via a range of methods and design tools.  We create sketches models, images, words, diagrams and animations to realise our ideas producing concept solutions to fulfil the project’s core values for inclusion within our initial Lighting Concept.

Successful Lighting Design has to be delivered so practical considerations like cost, buildability, sustainability and ease of maintenance form a crucial part of our thinking.

At this stage, we produce a fully developed design, where conceptual ideas progress to detailed information to produce proposed lighting layouts, schedules, provisional specification and a control philosophy.

Early dialogue with the Design, Construction and Maintenance Teams helps us to develop our initial Lighting Concept into a scheme that can be fully understood, consulted and costed for.

Where appropriate we will provide additional project specific information such as Planning Consent, Lighting Assessments, Photometric Calculations, BIM modelling information, Stakeholder Presentations and Employer Requirements.

At this stage, we produce complete detailed information for Tender.  This includes lighting layouts, technical details, pre-amble, specification requirements, loading schedules, control schematics and any other information required to ensure that the scheme is fully coordinated and understood.  We will also assist with environment scoring systems, such as BREEAM. 

Certain projects require services such as BIM modelling or managing of a common procurement process, all of which can be undertaken by our team.

Where possible, lighting demonstrations are used to explain the rationale behind the design and to illustrate how the lighting will be integrated within the overall design.

We support and advise the client, as needed, when reviewing tender returns from suppliers.  We engage early with the selected Contractor to ensure that they fully understand our design intent. Construction drawings are issued once all aspects of the project have been discussed, resolved and agreed.  We liaise with relevant parties within the supply chain to ensure that the procurement process is being well managed and without delay.

Construction is an opportunity to turn concept into reality and our involvement and attention to detail continues.  As required, we offer swift responses to any co-ordination and installation issues.  We assist with Commissioning, Programming and Focusing of the final Lighting Scheme.

Where required we can offer training and support to those operating and maintaining the final Lighting Scheme.  Remote support will be provided for twelve months with additional visits scheduled as agreed.

Production of a final “As Built’ lighting package will be submitted and will include drawings, schedules and specification details.  We look to meet twelve months after completion to advise on any potential changes to lighting control ‘scenes,’ control behaviour and focusing.