The Church of St Francis of Assisi in Wednesbury, West Midlands recently underwent a lighting make-over, improving its previously unflaterring and nonfunctional fluorescent lighting scheme.

In order to enhance the ambience and practicalities of the lighting within the church, Father Ron Farrell approached Lightmaster Direct to design and install an improved lighting system. Lightmaster Direct is a member of the Philips Dynalite Dimension dealer accreditation and training program.

The new design incorporated both functional and architectural lighting. Bespoke dimmable wall uplighters used in the nave allow a range of lighting levels to be achieved. Low-energy fluorescent fittings were used in the aisles, narthex, vestries, sacristy and porches, helping to minimise energy usage.

The altar, lectern and font are lit by low-voltage halogen lighting that both illuminates Father Ron for the congregation and allows him to read.

Architectural lighting effects have been achieved through a mixture of spotlights, uplighters and LEDs. Miniature spotlights are located on the ceilings with narrow beams used to accent the plaques depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross.

Underpinning the design is a lighting control system comprising 48 lighting channels, controlled by six Philips Dynalite multipurpose controllers. These feature a hardware-configurable design, where plug-in output cards accommodate specific loads assigned to the system.

The use of these controllers means that a single controller provides trailing edge, relay and DSI blast control, as required, in each area of the church. There are 15 pre-set lighting scenes programmed for the main church and four for each of the side chapels.

The main challenges faced by Lightmaster on this project was the fact that the church is a listed building. "We were restricted where we could route the cabling," says Lightmaster Design director, Richard Nock. "However, the compact nature of the Philips Dynalite multipurpose controllers meant that we could use small attic spaces on each side of the church."

"It was necessary to completely scaffold the inside of the building, even though the church was in continual use during installation. The time factor presented a major challenge, as it was important to complete the work in time for Christmas," he says.

The church's grand unveiling took place on Christmas Eve.