Project: Sandy Bank Beach Resort, Christophe Harbour, St.Kitt’s, Carribean

Interior Designer: Kiawah Partners, Charleston, USA

Completion Date: 2010

Fittings: 11no. ‘Tile’ Pendant lights H750mm DIA 460mm

Materials: Stainless steel and Acrylic

In 2009 we were contacted by the design team at one of the US’s foremost resort companies – Kiawah partners to create light fittings for a planned restaurant and bar area at a new resort on St.Kitt’s Island in the south eastern Carribean. The brief was very open, with the request to produce a series of pendants which would somehow capture the colours and feeling of the surrounding beach, water and reef. We were sent a collection of samples of materials being used as finishes throughout the buildings and specific details of how the fittings were to be hung in the intended areas and the suggested light sources etc. The fittings were to be located in a covered outdoor area so IP rating and chosen materials needed to accomodate this. We also supplied individual packing crates so the fittings could be removed and stored during the hurricane season.

We developed several designs using a variety of materials and techniques however the chosen design played on the ideas of tiles used to cover roofs of the surrounding buildings and the look and colour of mother of pearl. To develop the idea further we produced a series of mock-ups which demonstrated the colour and light transmission through a variety of materials including fibreglass. For the final design we chosen Acrylic for it’s longevity in outdoor environments but also because the Perspex collection had a pearlescent range which matched exactly the colours of mother of pearl and produced a beautiful warm colour range. A conical form was chosen and designed to take approximately 200 individual tiles of various colours, each slotted onto a framework of Acrylic which in turn was affixed to a series of polished stainless steel uprights. Each tile was then pinned in place. In order to achieve accuracy in production of the 11 fittings we used two different laser cutters to produce the 2300 parts used in the series.