Thorn luminaires help revolutionise facilities at a Samuel Ward Academy in Suffolk

Working on a brief to deliver a first-class facility for the pupils and teachers, Thorn Lighting has supplied both internal and external illumination for the £10 million education block that has revolutionised facilities at a Samuel Ward Academy in Suffolk. The luminaires were chosen to enhance the overall appearance of the state-of-the-art facility and create flexible and adaptable 21st Century learning environment for pupils, whilst providing a low maintenance, energy efficient solution.

The three-storey building replaced the school’s single-storey blocks A and B, which sat at the front of the building and, in addition to classrooms, the block houses the library, the SEN (special educational needs) resource base, specialist music and art rooms and media suites. Funding for the work came from the Government’s Priority School Build Programme with the building providing high standards in terms of natural daylighting, acoustic performance and the internal environment.

Thorn’s Arena LED luminaires illuminate the classrooms throughout the building. Their excellent light quality and sound absorbing features minimise the sound reverberation in the classrooms. Modern concrete walls, hard flooring and large amounts of glass all reflect (rather than absorb) sound. The echo effect created in this way can make it difficult to hear the teacher speak, causing students to raise the noise level even further by chatting amongst themselves. The innovative Arena LED minimises this.

Arena is a direct/indirect luminaire that gives the Academy a modern visual appearance. The fitting is available with a wide range of control options and has been designed for flexibility, offering a choice of infills to adapt the length of the system to match all classroom layouts, Arena is fully compliant with BB93 for optimum classroom performance, utilising high-efficiency LEDs to slash energy consumption.

Thorn’s Piazza robust IP65, wall mounted luminaires have been used for the illumination of the exterior of the building. Piazza has unique photometrics with 3 metre forward light throw and 12 metre spacing that also provides a very low upward light throw with less than 2.5% ULOR. Piazza delivers excellent 116 lm/W efficiency with simple installation.

For more information on Thorn and its products, see the website www.thornlighting.co.uk

About Thorn

Thorn is a manufacturer and supplier of dependable, efficient, high-quality luminaires. Our entire product range is made in Britain at our production plant located in Spennymoor, County Durham. Our extensive portfolio of indoor and outdoor lighting is developed to address the needs of wholesalers, contractors, specifiers and end users, for the widest range of applications. Our name is recognised throughout the world as standing for quality, reliability and ease of use. Supported by 90 years of expertise, we are proud to be known as a trusted partner, providing customers with invaluable insight and support beyond the product. We are also a Smart City specialist, helping municipalities improve safety and wellbeing through connectivity and intelligence. In indoor lighting, our innovative solutions create comfortable, efficient light for living and working. Thorn is a proud member of the Zumtobel Group.