Tower of London London, UK

Tower Hill next to the Tower of London has been dramatically developed to create an outstanding city square with world-class visitor facilities.

The scheme has created one of the largest public spaces in the City of London and makes conspicuous use of modern design to reinforce the historic setting. The plan features an open square, slightly sloping towards the Thames, with three modern buildings; an education centre, ticketing booth and retail centre. The design is sensitive to other surrounding buildings and provides a seamless transition from modern to medieval.

One of the most important issues was how to light the square at night. The architects were very insistent on not impeding the view of the Tower or the openness of the square by including lampposts and did not want to flood the square with light. The solution was to conceal the lighting sources with lights hidden in the granite benches, hung on ticket offices and at the bottom of stairs.

The complete lighting scheme is controlled by a Delmatic addressable system. The system ensures that the atmosphere is dim enough that visual attention is focused on the Tower - which is lit up very brightly at night - but bright enough that night visitors can feel comfortable and safe in the space.