Client: Dominion Chalmers United Congregation, Robertson Martin Architects

Services: Interior architectural lighting

Location: Ottawa

Awards: Award of Excellence – Restoration, City of Ottawa Architectural Conservation Awards, 2003

Description:

As part of a major renovation of Dominion Chalmers, a Presbyterian church built in 1912, MCLD was tasked with two major challenges. The first of these challenges was to light the space for an aging congregation, while at the same time not add in visual clutter to the space. The second was to provide a lighting system which could be used for special events, as the church had become one of the major music venues for the city of Ottawa. To satisfy the first of these challenges, we renovated the existing heritage fixtures to be more efficient, and unobtrusively added new lighting into the architecture, using the church's dome as a lighting lantern to illuminate the space. Using this strategy, we were able to highlight the architecture while providing increased levels of illumination for the congregation. To satisfy the second challenge, we installed a theatrical lighting system behind the glass in the dome so that it was not visible to the congregation but nevertheless illuminated the stage during performances.