Location – Chennai, India
Client – CSI Good Shepherd Church
Architecture – Pithavadian & Co
Lighting design – Lighting Research & Design
Luminaire supply – Regent Lighting Asia
The CSI Good Shepherd Church in Chennai/ INDIA attracts hundreds of people from different religions everyday for prayer and meditation. The church building with its tall spire, gabled-roof, enchanting arch windows and doors was designed by architect Prabhakar Devaraj of Pithavadian & Co. and inaugurated by Rt. Rev. Dr. Azariah, Bishop in Chennai on 24th December 1994. Situated on the southern side of the Velachery-Taramani Link Road, the church is considered a monument of great sacrifice and dedicated service of the senior members of the church, liberal donation given by the Diocese of Chennai, prayer partners and well wishers.
However, their existing lighting system of suspended 2x40W T12 fluorescent direct pendants with a colour temperature of 6500K was neither highlighting the gabled-roof architecture nor providing sufficient illumination especially for worshippers attending evening and nighttime prayer services. So in 2016 when the senior members of the church decided to go for a ‘lighting’ makeover, they were sensitive to their style of worship. They wanted to appoint someone who will carefully evaluate the existing architecture of their facility as well as the needs and desires of their staff and congregation. Dr. Amardeep M. Dugar of Lighting Research & Design was appointed as the lighting designer for this makeover.
As with any existing structure, there were several constraints. The first constraint was to use the existing cable-suspension points of the old lighting system for mounting. The second constraint was to mount the luminaires without disturbing the existing network of ceiling fans. During mock-ups, the Tech LED 2x30W LED Pendent-luminaire system from Regent Lighting with 42% direct- and 58% indirect-element provided the desired lighting effect besides matching with the existing cable-suspension points. A colour temperature of 4000K was considered the most appropriate for highlighting the off-white colour of the newly painted gabled-roof, and the colours of the wooden church furniture and red carpet. The pulpit also required uplift, as the existing system of 40W T12 exposed fluorescent battens was neither aesthetically pleasing nor providing sufficient illumination. The Flow LED 29W luminaire from Regent lighting was an aesthetically appealing direct replacement as it provided a 270-degree diffuse illumination similar to the exposed battens. This new LED system provided an average illumination of over 300lux as opposed to the older fluorescent system of only 100lux, besides consuming 40% less energy. The new lighting system was inaugurated during the Christmas celebrations of 2016 much to the delight of both the senior members and the congregation of worshippers.
Products Applied
Pendent Luminaire System – REGENT Tech LED Direct+Indirect 30+30W
Surface-mounted Luminaire – REGENT Flow LED 29W
