Food under the spotlight!

March 20, 2022

March 2022,

Nowadays lighting control is no more an optional system for restaurants. In fact, it is critical to ensuring a successful lighting scheme. With control systems becoming more affordable, they are no more the luxury they once were and should be the foremost priority for food outlets. Generally, restaurants need multiple lighting scenes based on the time of the day. As the light outside fades, dimming down lighting helps to soften the focus within a room and build an atmosphere. The space between light scenes is also important and one can delay the transition times with a good control system. It is possible to increase the transition times between lighting scenes, to gradually increase light levels without guests becoming aware.

Food under the spotlight!

Client: Günaydin Bluewaters
Consultant: LW Design Group
Contractor: AVEA Contracting LLC

Bluewaters Island is an artificial island 500 metres (1,600 ft) off the Jumeirah Beach Residence coastline, near Dubai Marina, in Dubai. It is a purpose built lifestyle destination in Dubai, offering residents and tourists a whole host of options to eat, live and play. The island includes entertainment, hospitality, residential, and retail zones, and is forecast to attract more than three million visitors annually.

Bluewaters’ main USP is, of course, Ain Dubai, the world’s biggest and tallest observation wheel. Accessible via a pedestrian bridge from the edge of the beach, Bluewaters is already home to two five star properties- A Caesars Palace, a beach club- Cove Beach, Caesars Resort and around 200 beverage, retail and food outlets sprinkled across the island and in the entertainment section of the island.

Famous Turkish Meatery, Günaydin, debuts its third restaurant in the region, at Bluewaters. Sitting on the waterfront promenade, enchanting guests with spectacular views of Ain Dubai and the twinkling lights of JBR and the Marina, this two storey restaurant features classic interiors designed by LW interior design. Renowned for creating a slew of award winning projects LW has delivered yet another winner!

Food grabs the spotlight at Günaydin, with open kitchens, live cooking stations at tables and display units that boast the best cuts of steak and skewers of kebab.

Open kitchens are a focal point in a restaurant. Chefs need plenty of task light. However, a common problem is extremely bright kitchens overpower the ambience and intimacy of dining spaces. A successful open kitchen is lit to 350lux, with a warm 3000k light providing limited light spill into the main restaurant areas.

Elsewhere pendant downlights over dinner tables ensure that the attention never hovers far away from the food. Pools of lights highlight the pictures on the walls, discreet up-lights showcase textured walls, track lights throw soft ambient lighting on open spaces between tables while large pendants add an interesting visual element to the natural surfaces that abound at Günaydin.

The experience is elegant, casual and chic and if it weren’t for the clever ambient, task, accent and decorative lighting plan by LW, it wouldn’t be half as attractive. But in modern restaurants apart from selecting a wide variety of lighting fixtures to suit different functions, intelligent lighting control is also a critical factor in ensuring proper dimming and energy conservation.

Team Creation was called in to supply, test and commission the Lighting Control system at Günaydin. “They needed an Architectural Dimming System which would be compatible with the fixtures specified on the project. Along with standard features an astronomical timer, ease of scene setting and keypad based control was stipulated by the client.”, says Mr Dharmendra Patel, MD, Creation.

“The project had a tight timeframe and we had to act fast to achieve the deadlines. We carried out staggered deliveries and coordinated with the contractor to ensure smooth and efficient execution of the project.”

“Mode Lighting’s control solutions ensured that all the client’s needs were fulfilled. Günaydin is spread over two floors and the lighting controls govern each floor’s front-of-house. Site conditions called for us to make some changes in our design in terms of the distribution of power and data. This was achieved with ease by close coordination with the installers. Apart from automation in terms of time scheduling (i.e. automatic recall of scenes and sequences), sensors in some spaces for presence/absence detection based control were installed.” concludes Mr. Dharmendra Patel.

Lighting Design should match the purpose

Before drawing a lighting plan for a restaurant, it’s important to define the type of restaurant it will serve. Quick turnover food outlets which have a higher footfall require greater ambient lighting. Ideally, an illumination of 300 lux with colour temperature around 3000k or 4000k (neutral/warm white) would suit it best.

Creation Gulf March 20, 2022

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Food under the spotlight!