“Light is so often misunderstood and taken for granted, it is only when it is reduced to nothing more than a shadow or evaporates completely that we realise its power and hold over us.”

So says Light.iQ founder and Creative Director, Rebecca Weir, of her firm’s mission to provide inspirational and innovative lighting solutions – integrating intelligent design with exceptional customer service.

Light.iQ works in close collaboration with Rigby and Rigby to “make spaces sing and resonate with the music of light” – as one journalist put it. This partnership between Rigby and Rigby and Light.iQ in super prime residential projects has proved to be extremely successful for the discerning client base. Both companies have seen a substantial shift in the requirements of high net worth clients who have been engaging much more with the lighting design process in recent years.

Says Rigby and Rigby Design Director Iain Johnson: “We have seen a dramatic increase and movement in the lighting design world in recent years and it is absolutely imperative that we are able to partner with a specialist design team to ensure that the clients brief and aesthetic are being adhered to. It’s a real pleasure to work with Rebecca and her team at Light.iQ who are dynamic, responsive and always meet our exacting standards as well as our clients’ briefs. We are working together on a variety of architectural styles of property, and each one has its own individual merits and stand out detailed design features, this creates a very complex task in our fast track project environment, but we never fail to deliver.”

“Sometimes the brief is about mood, sustainability or, sometimes, it is about colour rendering. Our clients are now much more health conscious and the smallest detail of reflectance, refracted light and glare are of utmost importance; they understand that staff cooking in a commercial kitchen, the family watching a film in a bespoke media room or when they themselves are working at a desk in a study require completely different lighting designs, specification and treatment down to the simplest of layout or lighting level adjustment. This is why we are looking forward to continuing our successful relationship with Rebecca and her team.”

Rebecca agrees and emphasizes how the ongoing relationship with Rigby and Rigby RIBA Architectural Practice is providing opportunities to transform developments through the use of innovative lighting schemes:

“It is a privilege to work with Rigby and Rigby, over the years we have pushed the boundaries of design to incorporate the latest in cutting edge technology to match their clients’ international lifestyles. The benefits of embracing the new lighting technologies include energy efficiency, reduced maintenance and smaller, more discrete fittings. The design details we are able to incorporate effortlessly today are very different to even a few years ago. Gyms with circadian-based lighting that changes colour to the time of day – providing a crisp white light, with a high blue content, for an early morning workout or a softer warmer light for an evening yoga session. An early disadvantage of LEDs was the colour rendering and colour temperature of light available, however, times have changed and we are now able to mimic traditional halogen perfectly with many clients choosing the very latest, colour tune-able, dimming.

“An important step in the process is the brief, ensuring our design ethos blends seamlessly with the client’s needs. Occasionally buildings will be listed which requires a sensitive and more detailed approach, often incorporating clever lighting details into joinery and other less permanent elements of the build. Together we push boundaries and integrate more interesting, subtle details in the lighting.

“For example, we are currently working with a client who will not have any downlights in his 8,200 sq. ft.home. This provides a wonderful challenge and opportunity and ensures all parties collaborate closely so that lighting can be pushed into the fabric of the architecture.

“This is the beauty about working with the Rigby and Rigby Architectural practice. It’s the experience and collaborative approach the team brings to each scheme with over 100 projects completed in central London to date. They are creative, knowledgeable and bring a project expertise that is really valuable to us as a lighting design team.

“Within residential schemes lighting is so often decorative, defined by the shape of a wall sconce or pendant. However, I feel the greatest schemes are often more ethereal, where the subtlety of the light dances and changes to the pattern of the day. Light should not be static, but considered as dynamic, with the ability to change our focus at different times of the day. Great lighting design will rarely be discussed because it becomes part of the personality of the client, the house, or the time of day and is thus invisible; only there to reinforce the character of the space.

With over 20 collaborations to date in London, one particular project stands out for Rigby and Rigby and Light.IQ. Continues Rebecca: “A young, dynamic client purchased a Knightsbridge Mews and required a cooler, more contemporary scheme. The interior designers introduced black glass, dark details and sumptuous finishes. It was easy to add lighting to this wonderfully sexy ambience. However, the challenge included ensuring there was plenty of light for more functional tasks such as cleaning!

“Of particular note was the car stacking garage that ended as a piece of art, viewed through panoramic glass in the basement. With an enviable car collection, the lighting through this moveable mechanism required the impact of a gallery. With close collaboration from all teams, particularly the Rigby and Rigby Project and Site Managers, the end result was breathless. As the car descended translucent curtains opened to reveal the sparkling engine. With several light settings in place the luxurious and magical collectors’ item could be viewed in multiple ways.

Modern technology, through the use of home automation and the latest in light fittings has also helped Rigby and Rigby and Light I.Q to respond in more innovative ways to traditional buildings; creating stunning solutions with dramatic effect.

Light.iq has recently responded to market demand and has introduced its own bespoke lighting range to the residential market. The Rigby and Rigby team, through their expertise in design and installation of these systems, are only too pleased to support the launch and will be including the fittings in their latest development.