Speirs & Major Lighting Design, Buildings, Images, Office, Studio, News

Speirs & Major

Contemporary British Lighting Design Practice, Scotland / England

Speirs & Major - Latest Designs Architecture News - latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically: Light Installation in Utrecht, The Netherlands Design: Speirs + Major photo : Speirs + Major / photographer James Newton Light Installation Utrecht - 12 Apr 2013 A new narrative based light installation called ‘in lumine tuo…’ designed by UK design firm Speirs + Major was unveiled on Thursday 11 April, in Utrecht. Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, accompanied by His Highness Prince of Orange, Willem Alexander and Her Highness Princess Maxima, officially opened the celebrations for the tri-centenary of the Treaty of Utrecht by turning on the unique lighting installation that sets out to connect the iconic Dom Tower with the Dom Church and Dom Square. The piece is intended as both as a centrepiece for the city and as a fitting culmination to the ‘Trajectum Lumen’ initiative, a trail of artistic illumination that winds its way through the city centre every evening on the hour. Twin Sails Bridge, Poole, Dorset, England Design: Architect: Wilkinson Eyre ; Lighting Design: Speirs + Major photograph © Dave Morris / Speirs + Major Speirs & Major Lighting Design - Twin Sails Bridge Poole : 18 Jun 2012 A project that had been 30 years in the making, Poole’s civic leaders believe their new Twin Sails Bridge is the key to the regeneration of the town. The challenge for lighting designers Speirs + Major was to use light to encourage people to engage with the structure after dark, creating a beautiful civic feature both when the bridge is open and when it is closed. 9 Nov 2012 Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund The Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund has been launched The Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund has been set up to provide support to students of architecture who wish to enter the architectural lighting profession. It raises funding from the architectural lighting profession, architectural and engineering professions, various professional associations concerned with the promotion and development of lighting design, from the lighting industry and from companies and individuals who wish to make a contribution. If you would like to support the Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund then please follow the guidance in this leaflet on ‘How to give’ or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund seeks to minimise costs to maximise the value of contributions. Any amount can therefore make a difference. Please give generously. The Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund - How to Give There are four levels of contribution available: Benefactor £10,000+ or £1,000 p.a. for 10 years Sponsor £5,000+ or £1,000 p.a. for 5 years Contributor £1000+ Supporter Any amount up to £999 The names of companies or individuals that have made contributions will be published annually. 19 + 18 Jun 2012 Jonathan Speirs 1958 - 2012 Jonathan Speirs lost his long battle with cancer earlier this morning. I had the fortune to work with Jonathan Speirs on the Ocean Terminal building in Leith, Edinburgh. That was the first time I met him and was greatly impressed with his energy, full of innovations and ideas. Over the years I've been aware of how he expanded the practice's work across the globe, but also on a local scale to his annual parties in the Edinburgh office. His passing is a great loss to the lighting design and architectural communities. Our thoughts are with his colleagues and family. Adrian Welch, e-architect editor 18 Jun 2012 Jonathan Speirs Designer 1958 - 2012 It is with great regret and deep personal sadness that we announce that Jonathan Speirs lost his fight against cancer on 18th June 2012. Since his terminal diagnosis in 2010 Jon showed characteristic strength and a steely determination to defy the life limiting constraints put upon him. He continued to work with us and travel widely until the end of 2011 finding energy and solace from the great loves of his life, his family and his work. Our thoughts are with Liz, Lucie, Erin, his sister, brothers and father. We will miss him dearly but will keep him with us, working to his and our primary objective: delivering great projects. photograph from Speirs + Major A personal statement from Mark Major can be found at www.speirsandmajor.com. We also intend to create a visual tribute to Jon which will be placed on the website. Respecting the wishes of his family, details of any memorial service will be posted on www.speirsandmajor.com when they become available. The Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Trust In recognition of Jonathan’s considerable achievements a small group of friends have agreed to establish the ‘Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Trust’ as a means by which to continue his legacy into the future. This fund will seek to actively raise money to provide financial support to aspiring young architects to enter the lighting profession just as he did. There is no more fitting way to celebrate Jonathan’s remarkable life than to continue doing what he was so good at – inspiring and helping the next generation to reach higher than they might otherwise achieve by doing the thing he loved most - bringing magic to people’s lives through the imaginative and creative application of light. Details of this fund will be made available on the Speirs + Major website www.speirsandmajor.com at a later date. 18 Jun 2012 Jonathan Speirs Lighting Designer + Architect D.Sc Dip. Arch B.Sc(Hons) RIBA FRIAS PLDA FRSA Hon.IALD Hon.FSLL Jonathan trained as an architect at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Aberdeen and Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh. Whilst studying, Jonathan indulged his interest in live music, acting as a lighting designer for friend’s bands. The unplanned convergence of his studies and hobby let to a lifelong passion for working with light in architecture. As a result he co-founded the pioneering lighting design practice Lighting Design Partnership (LDP) in 1984 not long after qualifying as an architect. This was at a time when the lighting design profession was in the early stages of development in the UK. Leaving LDP in 1992 he went on to form Jonathan Speirs and Associates in Edinburgh and in 1993 formed a working partnership with Mark Major in London which developed into Speirs + Major. His trademark energy and charm, along with a passion for architecture and light are fully evident when one reflects on his remarkable career. A gifted designer, Jonathan possessed a rare ability to combine creativity with elegant technical solutions. Unafraid to push the boundaries, he was involved in an incredible range of ground-breaking lighting projects all over the world. As a result his work has been honoured with a number of international and national lighting awards including two International Association of Lighting Designer’s Radiance Awards. He was also voted the Lighting Dimensions International Architectural Lighting Designer of the Year Award in 1997. Jonathan’s unbounded enthusiasm, contagious excitement and his willingness to share knowledge, stories and experiences served to inspire everyone he met. He lectured widely on lighting and was actively involved in education including ‘Made of Light; The Art of Light and Architecture’ an educational project he co-created with Mark Major in 2005. Both the architectural and lighting design professions are much the richer for exceptional contribution he made. Jonathan was a Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Professional Lighting Designers Association. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Light and Lighting and an Honorary Fellow of the International Lighting Designer’s Association. In 2010 he was honoured with Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s Gold Medal – the highest honour that can be bestowed on a Scottish Architect together with an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot Watt University. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 from Professional Lighting Design. Such honours rightly recognise his outstanding contribution to architecture and architectural lighting design. Jonathan Speirs : tribute - external link Key Recent Projects by Speirs & Major Infinity Bridge, Stockton-on-Tees, UK Expedition Engineering and Spence Associates photo : Brian Swales photography Infinity Bridge - 3 Mar 2010 The successful competition design was by Expedition Engineering and Spence Associates. The subsequent design was led by Expedition assisted by Arup Materials, Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, Black & Veatch, Bridon, Cambridge University, Cleveland Bridge UK, Dorman Long Technology, Flint & Neill, Formfab, GCG, GERB, Imperial College, RWDI, Spence Associates, Speirs & Major, Stainton and William Cooke. White Young Green were Project Managers. Lower Hatea River Crossing, north of Auckland, North Island, New Zealand Design: Knight Architects image from Knight Architects Lower Hatea River Crossing - 6 Dec 2011 Work began on the construction of the Lower Hatea River Crossing in Whangarei, New Zealand with a Maori blessing of the site. The NZ $29m (US $22m) project is part of a package to address congestion in the main city in Northland and will be funded 50/50 by Whangarei District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE Speirs and Major Associates photograph © Keith Bradshaw & Lars Kirstein Andersen / Speirs + Major Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque ‘Best lighting design project 2008’ The Middle East Lighting Design Awards (MELDA) recognise best quality lighting design throughout the middle east region. At this year’s MELDA awards the interior lighting for the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, Abu Dhabi, (the third largest Mosque in the world) won the Best Public Building Award. It was further honoured by the judges and was awarded the overall Best Lighting Design Project of 2008. Thermae, Bath Spa, UK 2006 Design: Grimshaw Architects ; Lighting: Speirs and Major Associates photograph © Edmund Sumner Thermae Bath Spa - 25 Aug 2008 The new Spa is housed in a mix of new build and sensitively restored buildings. The concept was to use artifi cial light to reinforce the legibility of the existing historic and new interventions, and enhance the enjoyment of spaces for the public. The lighting was conceived site-wide to create a cohesively lit composition. Devonshire Square, London, UK 2009 Architects Fletcher Priest with Speirs and Major Associates image © Speirs and Major Associates / James Newton Devonshire Square - 15 Sep 2009 Devonshire Square is a modern business estate with a unique historical past. A short distance from London's Liverpool Street station, twelve grade-II listed buildings form a quiet campus environment designed for work, dining and shopping. What makes the estate all the more special is its link to London's commercial past. More Speirs & Major designs online soon

Speirs & Major UK - Practice Information

Speirs & Major studios are based in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland

Speirs and Major Associates is a UK-based design practice that uses light to enhance the experience of the visual environment. Their work is wide-ranging in terms of type and scale and includes architecture, strategic projects and innovative product design. Completed architectural projects include Barajas International Airport, the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi, the Sackler Crossing at Kew, Copenhagen Opera House and the interior of St. Pauls Cathedral, London. They have also developed strategic lighting master plans for several cities and developments including Cambridge, Coventry, Durham, Al Raha, Abu Dhabi and Burj Dubai. The practice has been credited with helping to raise awareness of the lighting design profession globally. Today it employs 30 people drawn from disciplines including architecture, art, lighting, interior, graphics and theatre.

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