Refurbishing the University of Chicago’s Regenstein Library offered a chance to change the function of their basement floor – from stacks and reading spaces to collaboration rooms. Gutting the lighting scheme and starting again was the starting point – but we quickly recognized the value and embodied energy of the 1960s lighting – and saved it!

Knowing when not to change a lighting design is important – the existing equipment and lighting technique needed an upgrade – modernizing the existing ballasts and lamps – but the actual equipment was good. The overarching lighting scheme remains the original.

The existing lighting wasn’t a driver of collaboration or vertical illuminance, so a design was developed that provides task and indirect lighting for each collaboration space – bright, alert work spaces. And on a tight budget too! Simple lamp technologies in very simple detailing – in this case, pelmet details provides for effective, simple, maintainable illumination.

Bringing together the modern interventions with the historic lighting created a cost effective and much loved space in which the university’s mission is fulfilled.

It’s easy to forget the skills of those who came before us. Refurbishing a historic scheme and only updating electrical components is a great reminder of the fundamentals of lighting – and its timelessness.