Tower Mill in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick is an A listed formerly derelict weaving mill being given a new lease of as part of The Heart of Hawick Project. This is a £10 million regeneration project covering a number of areas of the town and funded by Scottish Borders Council, the European Union, Heritage Lottery Fund & the Scottish Arts Council. The mill building, which still houses a 14 foot Victorian water wheel, has been converted to a theatre and cinema with visitor centre, creative workspaces, a cafe / bar and exhibition space. Universal Fibre Optics was asked by KJ Tait Engineers and Gray Marshall Architects to supply and fit unobtrusive lighting to the stairs and handrail in the new theatre auditorium.To light the steps, focusable P9 stainless steel pavers are set into the E-Cousti board wall panelling just above the level of each step to avoid distracting glare. Two 150W metal halide light sources supply white light to each fitting through 3mm glass fibre.
A novel solution to light the handrails was required. Each handrail is recessed into the E-Cousti board and these are at the audience eyelevel. A subtle light is required to avoid distraction so single lines of 11mm diameter Brightline side glow fibre are used in a recesses above the handrails to cast a low-level light on to the top of the handrail. The glowing fibre is not visible unless viewed from below at an acute angle. Another benefit is that the light is virtually heat-free. Blue light is supplied to this by a further two 150W light sources.
End Client: Scottish Borders Council
Architect: Gray Marshall Associates
Consultant Engineers: KJ Tait
Main Contractor: GHI Contracts
Electrical Contractor: EIC (Scotland)
