Optelma’s bespoke lighting exudes opulence at The White Hall, Harrods

Standing proud in Knightsbridge, the world’s leading luxury department store, Harrods, has experienced impressive footfall since reopening its doors to loyal customers following the latest nationwide lockdown.

There is a lot to discover as you set foot into the iconic store located in the heart of London. Welcoming customers to the world’s ultimate beauty destination, The Beauty Halls at Harrods are positioned on the ground floor where shoppers will find prestigious brands and luxury products. Dedicated entirely to luxury skincare ranges, The White Hall is the second phase of the Beauty Hall renovation which has been reimagined as a glasshouse orangery within a private walled courtyard.

Leading architectural hybrid lighting company, Optelma, worked alongside an international award-winning interior design firm, the GA Group, and well-respected London-based contractor, Jaysam, to create an elegant, calm space with a luxurious feel encouraging customers to interact with the space and the products on offer.

Optelma embraced the GA Group’s design concept and visuals to curate a beautiful, bespoke lighting feature that was so meticulously thought out, it would be hard to distinguish between the final product and the initial design vision. Whilst achieving the desired aesthetic, a number of challenges were met throughout the installation, from engineering a maintainable system that incorporated other services, such as sprinklers, to working with 3D light boxes comprised of diffusers on two or three sides.

Designed to suit the GA Group’s unique interior, Optelma’s bespoke lighting incorporates Philips high-end Fortimo LED Drivers and Boards along with Casambi’s innovative technology to provide a futureproofed lighting control solution. Nine multi-panel skylights, and downlights within the parade of the large LED panels, were installed to create the correct lighting levels and colours, whilst ensuring the finish was compliant with the necessary health, safety, and fire regulations.

Throughout the design and installation, all project partners sought to sympathise with the building’s architectural past. Providing a dramatic contrast to the moodier adjacent food hall, a more contemporary light palette was used for The White Hall with heritage-inspired architectural detailing to complement the Beauty Halls scheme. Large architectural columns with stunning faceted white stone are proudly positioned in the centre of the space which showcases marble counters sitting beneath the feature skylight above. Lighting up the entire space, the skylight diverts the attention of the guests to make sure they look up and take in the beauty above.

Graham Watkinson, Managing Director at Optelma commented: “We were delighted to supply and install the lighting for this prestigious and iconic store. As with any commercial lighting installation, there were several hurdles to overcome including a very tight timeframe, and it was essential that all lighting can be easily accessed in the future should any maintenance issues arise. Thanks to the GA Group’s wealth of experience and an exceptional project team it was a fantastic brief and we are extremely proud of the finished look.”

Hannah Jacobs, Job Captain at The GA Group added: “Optelma’s bespoke panels were the perfect solution to fit the brief for The White Hall skylight. It was a pleasure to work with the Optelma team on this seemingly challenging brief which involved several intricate elements from design through to installation, and we were thrilled with the final result.”

IMAGES: Tony Fisher
INTERIOR DESIGNERS: The GA Group
ARCHITECTS: Woods Hardwick
MEP: Dowling Blunt
CONTRACTOR: Jaysam
LIGHTING CONTROL: Casambi