Other topics
May 2025 Case Study
ERCO’s Project of the Year, awarded at the annual Channel Partner Conference, is chosen by members of the ERCO team around the world and staff of various Oceania partners. The brief for success is to best interpret ERCO’s AAA Human Centric Lighting Approach (Architecture, Activity, Atmosphere).
The winning project for 2024 was the outstanding Christ Church Grammar School Hall refurbishment, submitted by Victorian Channel Partner Buckford Illumination.
The School story
Dating to 1898, CCGS is one of a handful of private primary schools in Australia. It is closely tied to the South Yarra Parish in Melbourne, and shares its facilities including space in the Parish Church and the School Hall, both elegant examples of Gothic Revival architecture complete with steeply pitched rooves and intricate finishes. Catering to around 300 children from years Prep to 6, and sited on very high value land, the Hall is a critical school resource and needs to adapt readily to the diverse needs of a group of energetic children and the community.
A timely upgrade
Refurbishment of the Hall was long due, and the brief to architects McIldowie Partners was to maintain the building’s architectural and historical significance whilst broadening the scope of the space to accommodate events, performances, sports and more.
The lighting solution
Key factors considered in the lighting solution supplied by Buckford and designed by the BRT engineering team were sustainability, efficiency and glare control. A track system was best suited to the ceiling, which is highly pitched but has exposed structural beams. Installing ERCO Parscan luminaires on the ERCO track gives the solution flexibility. Wide flood lenses deliver ambient lighting from a great height, accentuating the vertical surfaces and bringing out the warmth of the timbers. This embracing moonlight-effect is complemented by strip lighting that delineates the shape of the perimeter at multiple levels.
Further Parscan luminaires on the track are fitted with oval flood and oval wide flood lenses, which provide accents and define activity within the space, drawing attention to the stage, lectern and seating areas as required. Accent lighting also adds to the spatial definition, focusing attention on the proscenium arch and the decorative corbels, proud elements of the Hall’s architectural story.
Versatility is practical and timeless
Well-recognised results
In addition to being the ERCO Project of the Year 2024, the CCGS Hall earned other accolades for its specifiers – an Award for Heritage in the 2024 Victorian Chapter awards for the Australian Institute of Architects and a Commendation: Public Design in the 2024 Australian Interior Design Awards. And better still, the feedback from the School community is excellent!
Headquartered in Melbourne and with offices across three states, Buckford Illumination is one of the largest specialist commercial lighting suppliers in Australia.
Practicing since 1946, BRT Consulting Engineers promises complete guidance through the design and constuction process.
A comprehensive architecture and interior design practice, McIldowie Partners has completed a wide range of projects in Australia and New Zealand, spanning education, hospitality, corporate and commercial sectors.
Find out more about products used here:
Channel Partner: Buckford Illumination
Consulting Engineers: BRT Consulting Engineers
Architects: McIldowie Partners
Photographer: Jackie Chan
Exterior image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald
Allow us to approach your new project together.