Surrey Sports Park, UK

When Surrey Sports Park, one of Europe's premier sites for sport, health, wellbeing and leisure, needed an upgrade to its existing lighting, Thorn Lighting came up with a perfect solution. Utilising a variety of Thorn’s luminaires, a scheme was designed that is compatible with today’s technology and can be easily upgraded. 

Surrey Sports Park is the permanent training base of Harlequins Rugby Club, Sure League netball team Surrey Storm, British basketball league club Surrey Heat, and UK top-five swimming club Guildford City. The facilities include a 50 metre 8 lane swimming pool, a 120 station gym/strength and conditioning area, 6 squash courts, two large exercise studios/conference rooms, spinning studio, a 1,000 seat arena, three artificial pitches including 3G turf and changing/multi purpose rooms. There is also on-site accommodation with en-suite rooms, extensive catering facilities and event delivery services.

The overriding factor in the brief for the lighting solution was to upgrade to energy efficient, low maintenance LED lighting whilst improving the overall illumination of the facility using funding recouped from the energy savings obtained. The use of Thorn’s GLACIER II, modern and efficient decorative LED pendant luminaires in the reception has created a bright and vibrant space. GLACIER II is a high performance luminaire (91-124lm/W) with a long, maintenance-free lifetime of 50,000 hours that offers an efficient alternative to HID pendants.  

Thorn’s AREAFLOOD PRO with a special coating for harsh atmospheres was chosen for the illumination of the swimming pool. A low-energy, low-cost LED alternative to HID floodlights, the IP66 rated AREAFLOOD PRO is highly efficient (>110 lm/W) and has a substantial 100,000-hour lifetime for both the LED (L90B10) and drivers (Ta25°C). AREAFLOOD PRO offers high class-leading optical performance and control with minimal spill light in a compact, lightweight design. DUOPROOF, a range of sealed, IP65 rated, recessed fluorescent luminaires and CHALICE LED downlights have been installed in the swimming changing areas to creating the ideal ambience. DUOPROOF and CHALICE have also illuminate the general changing areas along with OMEGA LED, a versatile fitting with a slim 12mm profile and a UV-stabilised opal acrylic diffuser so it will retain its clean look. The IP44 rated OMEGA LED provides excellent glare control (UGR<19/22) and is easily retrofitted, whilst maintenance is significantly reduced by the 50,000 hours’ life.

The studios have been lit using IQ WAVE, Thorn’s next generation smart recessed LED luminaire which focuses on intelligent controls, optics, design and installation. Distinctly different to flat panels, IQ WAVE benefits from a modern wave design, providing great lighting quality, high user comfort and a communicative environment for the activities taking place in the studios. OMEGA LED has been used in conjunction with NOVALINE, a slim circular luminaire for wall or ceiling mounting that blends with most architectural styles for circulation areas. A combination of GLACIER II and CHALICE have been used to great effect in the bar areas to create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for users.

Thorn’s AQUAFORCE is already established as the ideal luminaire for damp and dusty conditions, making it perfect for use in the plant rooms. The robust, IP66-rated AQUAFORCE is built to resist ambient temperatures ranging from -20°C to 35°C, and its clever drip-edge design avoids dust depositing on the light output surface, so that any accumulation of dirt has minimal impact on performance. External roadways and car parks have been lit using R2L2, a road lantern at the forefront of LED technology with PLURIO, a decorative post-top lantern with a simple and attractive design. The two lanterns work in harmony on the exterior of the facility to provide an environment with enhanced safety that also delivers the demanding energy reduction required.