16 November 2011

PointOfView at The Star

The spa and five star hotel in Sydney's new The Star casino complex is an exercise in subtle, sensitive lighting design.

Interior designers DBI and lighting designers PointOfView have worked together on a spa and the new five star Darling Hotel at The Star casino complex, creating a series of ambient and atmospheric spaces.

The PointOfView team, led by Design Director Mark Elliott, were careful to integrate the lighting within the fabric of the space so that it enhanced rather than dominated the interior.

In the spa, light was kept minimal, applied judiciously to surfaces and sculptures for a subdued effect.

"This approach is typical to the way we work," says Elliott. "The best lit space for me is when you walk in and know that it feels right but you're not immediately sure why. This means that we have done our job!"

The hotel lobby, with its triple height glass roofed section, proved trickier to light. Chandeliers from Luce Plan add drama; the rest of the lighting is from a low level, in the way of floor lamps and integrated joinery lighting.

"It is crucial in such a voluminous hospitality space to bring lighting down to a human level so that the patrons don't feel exposed and are comfortable in the environment," Elliott explains.

Sandstone walls are dramatically uplift with linear LED inground fittings; a deep red wall is made even deeper with red LEDs.