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COX Architecture’s 2023 Sydney Studio renovation uses a layered track-lighting scheme to make a heritage warehouse work as a contemporary office. Jilly downlights focus on desks, Hi-trac adds ceiling-level ambient light, Optec spotlights wash walls and highlight objects, and louvred fittings control glare in the kitchen. The result is an adaptable lighting system designed around both daily work and the character of the Metcalfe Bond Stores.
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The project is the renovation of COX Architecture’s Sydney Studio at 70 George Street in The Rocks. The studio occupies the Metcalfe Bond Stores, a five-storey heritage-listed former bond store and warehouse originally constructed in 1912. Rather than treating the building as a blank office floor, the renovation had to support current work patterns while responding to an existing industrial structure.
LCI Consultants designed the lighting. ERCO identifies Jadecross Lighting as its channel partner for the project. LCI describes the broader renovation as being guided by conservation, collaboration and sustainability, with a workplace intended to adapt as work culture changes. Architecture & Design published its project coverage on 18 June 2023, the same year the renovation was completed.
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That context explains why the scheme is not a single uniform grid of office fixtures. The lighting is organized in layers that can serve desks, circulation, shared areas, displays and architectural surfaces without asking one luminaire to do every job.
Five lighting layers and what each one does
1. Focused light at workstations
ERCO’s project account describes Jilly downlights mounted on track and aimed at work surfaces. This is the task layer: light is directed where drawing, reading, model-making and computer work happen instead of being spread evenly across the entire ceiling.
Track mounting matters because workstation layouts can change. A fitting can be repositioned along the track, or an aiming angle can be adjusted, without rebuilding a fixed ceiling grid. In a studio expected to evolve with work culture, that physical flexibility is part of the design rather than a later retrofit.
2. Uplight for a brighter ceiling plane
The Hi-trac system provides uplight to the light-coloured ceiling, according to ERCO. This indirect layer raises the apparent brightness of the upper room and softens the contrast between concentrated desk light and the surrounding space.
Uplight is visually different from a downlight aimed at a desk: the ceiling becomes a luminous surface, while the source itself can remain less visually dominant. The project sources describe the effect as ambient illumination; they do not provide measured illuminance, uniformity or glare ratings for the room.
3. Wallwashing behind screen-based work
Optec spotlights wash the rear wall. ERCO explains that lighting the background can help balance bright computer screens against a dark or uneven field behind them. In the studio, the same Optec family is also used to draw attention to a model display, plants and columns.
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Wallwashing therefore performs two jobs at once: it contributes to the visual environment around workstations and gives the interior a deliberate rhythm of illuminated surfaces. The source describes the design intent; no independent visual-comfort test is reported.
4. Accent beams for objects and structure
Optec spotlights provide the narrower, directional layer used for displays and selected architectural elements. A model, a planting group or a column can receive emphasis without increasing the brightness of every nearby surface.
Architecture & Design’s captions identify Optec and Jilly luminaires on track and separately name Optec wallwashing. Those captions confirm the visible fixture families and their roles, while ERCO supplies the fuller explanation of how the beams are used in the studio.
5. Glare-controlled light in the kitchen
In the kitchen area, ERCO describes Optec luminaires fitted with cross-blade louvres or honeycomb louvres. These optical accessories limit high-angle views of the light source and are described as providing glare-controlled illumination.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe kitchen is a useful example of why a workplace needs more than one optical treatment. A social or refreshment area has different sightlines from a row of desks, and people may look toward the ceiling while standing, talking or moving through the space. The louvres address that condition without changing the overall track-based approach.
Fitting modern light into heritage ceiling structures
The project’s heritage response is visible in the way lighting is inserted into, rather than simply placed in front of, the existing architecture. Architecture & Design captions mention Luxient luminaires paired with custom ERCO IKU wallwashers in the heritage fishbone ceiling structures.
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That detail is more specific than a general claim that the building was “blended” with new interiors. It indicates that some luminaires and wallwashers were designed or selected for the geometry of the existing ceiling pattern. The available project descriptions do not establish that every original feature was retained, nor do they give a complete conservation schedule.
LCI’s stated principles—conservation, collaboration and sustainability—provide the framework for the intervention. The lighting supports those principles by using adjustable tracks and selective illumination, but the published sources do not quantify energy savings, lamp life, operating hours or carbon reductions.
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| Studio need | Named luminaire or system | Documented application |
|---|---|---|
| Work-surface illumination | ERCO Jilly on track | Directed light for workstation surfaces |
| Ambient ceiling light | ERCO Hi-trac | Uplight to the light-coloured ceiling |
| Wall and background illumination | ERCO Optec | Wallwashing, including the rear wall |
| Displays and architectural accents | ERCO Optec spotlights | Beams aimed at a model display, plants and columns |
| Kitchen lighting with glare control | ERCO Optec with cross-blade or honeycomb louvres | Louvred illumination in the kitchen area |
| Heritage ceiling integration | Luxient luminaires and custom ERCO IKU wallwashers | Installed in the heritage fishbone ceiling structures |
Why a track system suits an adaptable office
A fixed luminaire layout assumes that desks, partitions and circulation routes will stay in place. The COX studio brief pointed in the opposite direction: LCI says the renovation sought a workplace able to adapt to evolving work culture. Track gives the lighting team a way to revise focus as the plan changes.
- Re-aiming: A downlight or spotlight can be redirected toward a relocated desk, display or planting group.
- Layering: Task, ambient, wallwashing and accent roles can coexist on a coordinated system rather than competing for one uniform output.
- Selective emphasis: Objects and columns can be highlighted without flooding every surface with the same intensity.
- Heritage sensitivity: New luminaires can follow existing ceiling geometry where a conventional repetitive grid would fight the building’s character.
Flexibility does not mean that every track installation will automatically perform well. Final results depend on beam angles, spacing, mounting height, surface reflectance, controls and the furniture plan. None of those complete project specifications is published for this studio.
Visual comfort: what is documented and what is not
The project sources use visual-comfort language in connection with the lighting strategy. ERCO specifically links the rear-wall wash to balancing bright screens with their background and describes the kitchen’s louvred Optec fittings as glare-controlled.
Those are design explanations, not independent measurements. The reviewed material does not provide UGR values, luminance readings, measured lux at desks, flicker data, daylight calculations or post-occupancy survey results. It is therefore accurate to say that the scheme was designed with visual comfort in mind, but not to claim a tested comfort score or a guaranteed screen-performance result.
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For anyone adapting the idea to another studio, the practical checks are clear: inspect the brightest sources from seated and standing positions, look for reflections on screens, verify that wall brightness supports rather than competes with the task, and test the kitchen or collaboration areas from the sightlines people actually use.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Sustainability without invented performance numbers
Sustainability was one of the renovation’s stated guiding principles. The lighting approach can support that ambition through targeted illumination, adaptable tracks and the ability to retain useful existing architecture. However, the published project information does not state connected load, annual energy use, control schedules, replacement rates or a before-and-after comparison.
Those omissions matter when a project is used as a reference. A visually restrained scheme is not automatically a low-energy scheme, and a heritage conversion cannot be assigned a savings percentage without a defined baseline and measurement period. The responsible conclusion is that sustainability shaped the brief, while the available sources do not establish a quantified lighting outcome.
Recognition for the wider studio renovation
COX reports that the Sydney Studio received the 2023 NSW Architecture Awards Interior Architecture Award. The jury described it as “a masterclass of contemporary workplace design, delivering a rich mix of easily adaptable spaces underpinned by a rigorous but pragmatic approach to sustainability.”
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How to borrow the strategy for another workplace
Start with activities, not fixture counts
Map desks, meeting areas, kitchens, circulation paths, displays and planting before selecting products. Each activity may need a different combination of task light, ambient light, wallwashing and accent light.
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Set the background before increasing task output
If screens are surrounded by a very dark wall, raising desk illuminance alone may increase contrast. A controlled wallwash or ceiling bounce can establish a calmer field behind the task, provided reflections and glare are checked from the user’s position.
Specify optical control where sightlines demand it
Louvers, honeycombs and cross-blades are not decorative add-ons. They change what occupants see when they look toward a luminaire. Kitchens, breakout areas and circulation zones should be assessed from standing as well as seated viewpoints.
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Track lines should respect beams, heritage patterns, ceiling services and future furniture moves. In a protected or character-rich building, the mounting strategy may be as important as the luminaire family.
Require the missing evidence at specification stage
- Fixture schedule, quantities and beam angles
- Control zones, dimming method and scene settings
- Desk-level illuminance and glare criteria
- Connected load, operating assumptions and maintenance access
- Compatibility with the local electrical system and heritage approvals
Those documents would allow a project team to evaluate energy, comfort and maintenance rather than inferring them from photographs or product names.
What the published project record leaves open
The available descriptions do not give a complete fixture schedule, total quantities, exact control configuration, measured lux levels, energy savings, project cost or current marketplace availability. They also do not report independent testing of the lighting. Product names identify the principal families—Jilly, Optec, Hi-trac and IKU, with Luxient and custom IKU wallwashers noted in the captions—but not every technical specification used in the finished studio.
That boundary is useful for readers. The COX studio is a documented example of layered, flexible office lighting in a heritage building; it is not a published performance study with a full set of numerical results.
The central lesson from COX’s Sydney Studio
The project makes a contemporary workplace legible through several coordinated lighting jobs: Jilly directs attention to work surfaces, Hi-trac lifts the ceiling, Optec gives walls and selected objects visual weight, and louvres moderate glare where people gather in the kitchen. Tracks provide the adjustability needed for a changing office, while the use of wallwashers and custom fittings acknowledges the existing fishbone ceiling structures.
That combination—not a single “best” fixture—is the transferable idea. Start with the work, the sightlines and the architecture; then assign task, ambient, wallwashing and accent layers that can be adjusted as the workplace changes.
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