Whitecroft Lighting has supplied a range of fittings to the new David Young Community Academy in Leeds. Throughout the building, a key criterion for the lighting was that it should provide a comfortable and pleasant working environment for students and staff, while catering for extensive display screen usage.The £23m David Young Community Academy opened in September 2006, providing education for 11 to 18 year olds in the East Leeds area. Sponsored by the Church of England, it replaced two existing Leeds schools, Agnes Stewart CE High School and Braim Wood Boys' High School.
Lighting was specified by consulting engineers Waterman Building Services, working closely with the client and other members of the design team to meet the needs of each space. "There is a strong emphasis on the use of technology at the Academy and computers are used extensively in almost every space," explained Waterman's Martyn Park. "Whitecroft's Softcell 3 fitting proved ideal for meeting the requirements of LG7 in classrooms with suspended ceilings, as well as meeting and seminar rooms, offices and the music room," he added.
Softcell 3 offers lighting designers the opportunity to fully comply with LG3:2001 and LG7:2004 with a single luminaire design, achieving 30% and 50% light levels respectively on ceilings and walls relative to the working plane. "Whitecroft's design team was very supportive and helped us to achieve the required light distribution in each of the spaces," Martyn Park continued.
In addition, Whitecroft's Mirage and Radial fittings were used extensively in corridors and the social hub, with ACF Duralite fittings in toilets, showers and staff changing areas.
