Photo Courtesy of Graeme Wyllie
Ewweb 4106 Soraa Council Chambers 01 1024
Ewweb 4106 Soraa Council Chambers 01 1024
Ewweb 4106 Soraa Council Chambers 01 1024
Ewweb 4106 Soraa Council Chambers 01 1024
Ewweb 4106 Soraa Council Chambers 01 1024

Architect’s Vision Brings LED Lighting to Johannesburg Council Chambers

Nov. 17, 2017
The organic shape of the Council Chamber sets it apart from the linear buildings that surround it and the lighting plays a key role.

The new City of Johannesburg Council Chambers in Johannesburg, South Africa, features an elegant rotunda of curved glass panes, gold glass “fins” and clean architectural lines. The design of the Council Chamber sets it apart from the linear buildings that surround it. The chambers’ organic shape celebrates African principles of space making and is intended to symbolize the city’s transformation in line with the core values of transparency, accountability and accessibility. It is also the first municipal building in South Africa to be certified under the Green Star SA Public and Education Buildings (PEB) tool and the Green Star SA Socio-Economic Category (SEC) rating.

To capture the essence of what the space represents, lighting designers at SMITH.TAIT sought a solution that would accent the interior brass columns while providing general illumination to the public seating. SMITH.TAIT chose Soraa VIVID AR111 and GU10 lamps with the louver and Soraa’s 25° beam spreader SNAPs to create the effects needed, and to allow the designers greater flexibility to adjust the lighting design on site.

“The architect’s vision for this project could only be achieved using Soraa’s lamps,” said Rupert Tait, principal at SMITH.TAIT. “Soraa’s lamps in combination with their snap accessories meant we could deliver a design well below budget, but still maintain the integrity of the architect’s vision.”