Speirs Major

Peninsula Square in London links the arrival area at North Greenwich tube station to the O2 entertainment centre, and acts as a gateway to the developing commercial and residential quarters of the Greenwich Peninsula.

We had already developed a sustainable lighting strategy for the wider area, so our lighting design was not only a response to the architectural and landscape designs, but rooted in a broader understanding of the client’s long-term requirements for the site.

Our design provides a safe level of lighting for a range of activities without cluttering the space. Through the simple lighting of trees, benches and other landscape features, the square is kept calm and comfortable during normal use after dark.

The main landmark is a 45-metre tall, stainless steel sculpture, called the Peninsula Spire. This is dramatically uplit, with a spotlight on the finial to ensure that it continues to be highly visible from a distance as night falls.

For the street lighting around the site, we selected a unique, steel blue light. This adds to the tranquility of the surroundings, while creating a platform that heightens the experience of the feature lighting systems when in use.

The feature lighting consists of scenes we programmed that can be used when needed for the events associated with the O2 and the local community. The square becomes a highly colourful kinetic environment in which ripples of moving light are choreographed to operate in harmony with the various water features and the media wall.