Speirs Major (formerly Speirs + Major, Speirs and Major Associates) is a UK

lighting design In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping i ...

practice founded by Jonathan Speirs (1958-2012) and Mark Major in 1993. The practice is noted for its illumination of many prominent buildings, including Barajas International Airport,Slessor, Catherin
"Spanish Soft Machine"
'' Architectural Review'', July 2006

30 St Mary Axe 30 St Mary Axe (previously known as the Swiss Re Building and informally known as the Gherkin) is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. It was completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004. ...

(‘ The Gherkin’), the Millennium Dome and the interior of St. Pauls Cathedral.Kolb, Jaffer
"Divine Light"
''Architectural Lighting'', November 2006 The firm has also developed lighting master plans for several British cities, including

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

,"Plan to illuminate historic city"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', August 2007

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, and for major private developments including

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the rest of Greenwich, to the s ...

and King’s Cross Central,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Speirs Major has been credited with helping to raise awareness of the lighting design profession in the UK.Kennett, Stephen
"Setting the world alight"
''Building Services Journal'', January 2006 Today it employs approximately 38 people drawn from disciplines including architecture, art, lighting, interior, graphic and theatrical design. Its studios are based in

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, UK.

Light Architecture

Both founding members Jonathan Speirs, who died on 18 June 2012, and Mark Major trained and practiced as architects before focusing on lighting design. In interviewsMansfield, Susan
"That warm glow of success"
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

'', June 2002 they argued that light should be embedded at the heart of the architectural design process rather than applied as a ‘cosmetic add-on’. This integral approach to lightAlexander, Kaye
"Seeing the light"
''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was ...

'', September 2008 led them to adopt the term ‘lighting architect’ to describe their role as ‘building with light as opposed to bricks and mortar’. Keith Bradshaw was appointed as a principal in 2009, and the studio was rebranded as Speirs + Major in August 2010, with the studio at that time terming themselves as 'designers who work with light' to reflect the breadth of skill in their team and to encompass their work that included not only lighting architecture, but strategy and branding projects as well as product and innovation. On 24 November 2020, the studio announced a change in name and brand identity to SPEIRS MAJOR to reflect their evolution from an atelier practice to a broader organisation headed by several Partners under the creative directorship of Keith Bradshaw and Mark Major. Moving away from 'designers who work with light' they instated the use of the term "Light Architecture" to better reflect their design ethos, describing themselves as having a "fascination with light, form, space and time." and a desire to "progressively and responsibly use light to improve the experience of the built environment, promote well-being and generate a unique sense of place.”

Notable projects

* K11 Musea, Hong Kong (2019) *Interior lighting for

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

, Norwich, UK (2019) *The

Beverly Center Beverly Center is a shopping mall in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is an eight-story structure located at the edge of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, between La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards. Anchor tenants include Blooming ...

, Los Angeles, United States (2018) *The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience, Scotland, UK (2018) *Gasholders London, Kings Cross, UK (2018) * Gasholder Park, King's Cross,

, UK (2016) *La Nuvola (The Cloud), EUR Congressi,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(2016) *

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport) is the airport serving Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It is located on the east bank of the Pearl River near Huangtian and Fuyong villages in Bao'an District, and is ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(2015) *

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...

, London, UK (2014) * Maggie's Centre

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, Airdrie, UK (2014) *In Lumine Tuo (the lighting of the

Dom Church St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, or Dom Church ( nl, Domkerk), is a Gothic church dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, which was the cathedral of the Diocese of Utrecht during the Middle Ages. It is the country's only pre-Reformation cathedral, ...

and Dom Tower),

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(2013) *

Burlington Arcade Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping arcade in London, England, United Kingdom. It is long, parallel to and east of Bond Street from Piccadilly through to Burlington Gardens. It is one of the precursors of the mid-19th-century European sh ...

, London (2012) *Marianne North Gallery,

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

, UK (2011) *

Infinity Bridge The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in northern England. The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales ...

, Stockton-on-Tees, UK (2009) *

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

Fifth Avenue,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(2009) *3

More London More London, part of an area known as London Bridge City, is a development on the south bank of the River Thames, immediately south-west of Tower Bridge in London. It is owned by the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund. It includes the City Hall, ...

Riverside, London, UK (2009) * Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi,

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

(2008) *

Beijing Capital International Airport Beijing Capital International Airport is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). It is located northeast of Beijing's city center, in an exclave of Chaoyang District ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

(2008) Basulto, David
"Beijing Airport / Foster + Partners"
''Arch Daily'', May 2008 *The restoration of the Royal Festival Hall,

, UK (2007) *

/ Ginza flagship store,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan (2007) Donoff, Elizabeth
"New Giorgio Armani Flagship Store in Toyko's Ginza District"
''Architectural Lighting Magazine'', April 2008 * BBC Scotland exterior lighting,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, UK (2007) *Durham Lighting Strategy,

, UK (2007) *Terminal 4,

Barajas Airport Barajas may refer to: *Barajas (Madrid), the district of Madrid in which the airport lies ** Barajas (Madrid Metro), station along Line 8 of the Madrid Metro **Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, principal airport of Madrid, Spain * Barajas ( ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(2006) *The interior of St Paul's Cathedral,

, UK (2006) *The Sackler Crossing,

, UK (2006) Sadighian, David
"Speirs and Major treads lightly at the Sackler Crossing"
''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

'', November 2007 *

, ( The Gherkin),

, UK (2004) * The Copenhagen Opera House,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(2004) *World Squares for All (

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

)

, UK (2003) *

Gateshead Millennium Bridge The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead arts quarter on the south bank and Newcastle upon Tyne's Quayside area on the north bank. It was the first tilting bridge ever ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, UK (2002) * Magna Science Adventure Centre,

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, UK (2001) "The Magna Science Adventure Centre"
''

'' * The Millennium Dome,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, UK (2000) *

Burj Al Arab The Burj Al Arab ( ar, برج العرب, ''Arab Tower'') is a luxury hotel located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Managed by Jumeirah hotel group, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total heigh ...

Hotel exterior,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

(1999)
RIBA Stirling Prize collaborations
Speirs and Major Associates have designed lighting for a number of buildings that have either won or been nominated for the

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

for architecture. Stirling Prize winners: * Maggie's Centre London (

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

) in 2009 *Terminal 4,

, Madrid (

Richard Rogers Partnership RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Jun ...

) in 2006 *

( The Gherkin), London (

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide ...

) in 2004 *The

(

Wilkinson Eyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice has ...

) in 2002 *The Magna Centre, Rotherham (

) in 2001 Stirling Prize shortlisted projects: *The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience (

) 2019 (winner TBA) * Maggie's Centre Lanarkshire
Reiach and Hall Architect
in 2015 *5, Aldermanbury Square, London (Eric Parry Architects) in 2009 *The Royal Festival Hall Restoration (

Allies and Morrison Allies and Morrison LLP is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London and Cambridge. Founded in 1984, the practice is now one of Britain's largest architectural firms. The practice's work ranges from architecture and interio ...

) in 2008 *The Dresden Main Station Redevelopment (

) in 2007 *The Phoenix Initiative, Coventry ( MJP Architects) in 2004 *The Dance Base, Grassmarket, Edinburgh ( Malcolm Fraser Architects) in 2002

Recent awards

*Winner, Community + Public Realm, Lighting Design Awards 2017 *Lighting Design Winner, FX Awards 2016 *Outstanding Achievement, AL Light & Architecture Design Awards 2013 & 2015 *Scottish Design Award 2015 *IALD Radiance Award 2014 *Winner, Heritage, Lighting Design Awards 2013 *Design Practice of the Decade, Lighting Design Awards 2012 *IALD Radiance Award 2010 *PLD Recognition Award for Best New Project 2009 *IALD Radiance Award 2009 *IALD Radiance Award 2008 *Light and Architecture Award 2008 *FX Design Award for Best Lighting 2008 *

IESNA The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), formerly the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), is an industry-backed, not-for-profit, learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mi ...

Award of Merit 2007 *

Award of Distinction 2007 *Lighting Designer of the Year (UK) 2007 *FX Design Award for Best Lighting 2007 *FX Design Award for Best Lighting 2005 *IALD Award of Excellence 2005 *Lighting Designer of the Decade, Light Magazine (UK) 2005

Bibliography

In 2006 Jonathan Speirs and Mark Major authored the book ''Made of Light: The Art of Light and Architecture'', a series of visual essays on lighting design. The book is co-authored by Anthony Tischhauser and published by Swiss architectural publisher Birkhäuser."Made of Light: The Art of Light and Architecture"
''Amazon.com'' *

Notes and references

External links

Speirs + Major website
{{Authority control Architectural lighting design Lighting designers Architecture firms of the United Kingdom