On all seven oceans around the world, passengers enjoy shopping as an integral part of today's cruise experience - and light is a crucial factor in making this experience not only as pleasing as possible but also exciting, entertaining and sales-promotional. With its innovative 360° shop-lighting solutions, OSRAM allows customers to realise concepts that provide a centre stage for a broad range of products and helps them create a welcoming atmosphere for shoppers on land as well as at sea.
With 90 stores and a busy food court, County Mall is a family-friendly shopping centre and a popular destination for residents and visitors of Crawley, in the south-east of the UK. Since the 1990s, it has been constantly modernising its look to maintain a contemporary feel for its customers and continue attracting a wide range of best-selling brands. In 2014, the time had come once again for a new stage in the evolution of the centre; in this case, with a major update in terms of lighting technology.
To implement a new lighting concept for County Mall that would not only save energy and maintenance costs but also refresh the overall atmosphere of the shopping centre, the lighting consultants from Paul Nulty Lighting Design (PNLD) turned to OSRAM for support.
The project is a prime example of state-of-the-art shop lighting with efficient LED modules and flexible LED driver technology. It can also be seen as a model and inspiration for similar projects on board modern cruise ships. Not unlike the interior of many of these huge vessels, the interior of County Mall is characterised by a very high ceiling. However, its atrium and interconnecting bridges also make the space look complex and cluttered. Therefore, PNLD designed a crisp, clean LED lighting solution that draws the eye up through the space and highlights the mall's special features while brightening the centre and reducing the sense of clutter. A key element is a modern art installation hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the atrium. It resembles a flock of birds and creates a sense of movement supported by soft, elegant background lighting.
Thanks to the use of intelligent LED driver technology from OSRAM, the newly installed LED modules can now be controlled flexibly and comfortably. Furthermore, the long service life of LEDs, as well as their low energy consumption, are crucial factors for significantly reducing the operating and maintenance costs of County Mall's new lighting system. This showcase project once again demonstrates the benefits and superior versatility of modern LED technology. While the mall entrance was updated with striking white LED backlighting, OSRAM also brightened the open space with discrete functional luminaires, using LINEARlight Flex Power LED strip lights in the coves under the escalators. Inside, the new lighting concept puts emphasis on the mall's vertical features. Ambient LED light integrated into the architecture and large illuminated Barrisol light boxes give the illusion of skylights, and flood the centre with light. OSRAM completed the project with a stylish curved LED bulkhead and white LED signage equipped with BackLED modules at the entrance to the food court.
The soft OSRAM lighting has transformed the shopping centre. In addition to the impressive aesthetic result, County Mall's team now also profits from highly efficient, low-maintenance lighting.
It is important to present valuable products in their best light in order to provide an appealing shopping experience. With the OSRAM range of special LINEARlight Flex Power LED modules, retailers are up to this task. The right white light can, for example, reveal the full brilliance of high-end products such as jewellery or enhance the richness of colours in clothing.
