Bala Baya Serving In Better Light

Bala Baya, located in London, is a stunning example of restaurant lighting at its best. It’s a bakery in the morning, a fast paced pitta kiosk with a sit down mezzanine at lunch and a buzzy street level restaurant at night. Their food is rooted in tradition but with a progressive and modern take.

Inspired by Bauhaus architecture, Bala Baya is a kaleidoscopic space that allows customers to experience the sun-kissed youthfulness of Tel Aviv from the heart of Southwark.

/media/news/library/bala-baya-web-1.jpg Bala Baya, London, UK

Finding the perfect solution.

Bala Baya wanted LED lighting, believing new LED technology had several advantages over fluorescent lighting systems. The brief was for the lighting to create an atmospheric, elegant, functional area for customers to experience all the delights of the Tel Aviv inspired restaurant.

Illuma’s in-house lighting designers put forward several lighting design proposals, exploring a range of possible solutions that could help Bala Baya achieve their desired effects.

"We wanted to create a lighting scheme that would provide enough light for the space to be functional without detracting from the architect’s vision of creating an intimate dining experience. One of the main objectives was to provide a light source to accentuate the bricks that make up the railway archway in which the restaurant sits. We achieved this by using our Gridspot LED spotlights in a 3000K (Warm White) colour temperature. Throughout other areas of the restaurant, we used a multitude of different lighting solutions. Our suspended track with Gridspot LED Anti Glare spotlights was used in the main dining area to bring the light level down and reduce the glare from the light source for customers. The overall impression is warm, cosy and inviting!" - Kate Morley, Lighting Designer at Illuma.

/media/news/library/bala-baya-relux-2.jpg (Relux 3D View Prior To Installation) (Actual Installation)

/media/news/library/bala-baya-relux.jpg (Relux 3D View Prior To Installation) (Actual Installation)

The installed lighting layout is relatively simple. Suspended 3-Circuit 230V track runs perpendicular to the archway and is sparsely populated with Illuma’s Gridspot LED and Gridspot LED Anti Glare spotlights. See below:

/media/news/library/bala-baya-webbb.jpg Bala Baya, London, UK

Clusters of downlights have been used around the perimeter of the kitchen area and Illuma’s Linkline LED has been used to highlight the bar and seating areas, creating a dramatic, high contrast environment. Illuma’s Emlux Duo emergency fittings were also installed in the scheme.

/media/news/library/bala-baya-webb.jpg Bala Baya, London, UK