Illuminating Elegance with Glowrail.

Bespoke Timber LED Handrail at London College of Fashion

 The Light Lab contributed bespoke lighting to the relocation of London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, to its state-of-the-art, purpose built site at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on the

Stratford Waterfront. Allies and Morrison & Buro Happold specified our expertise to fabricate our bespoke LED handrail fitting ‘Glowrail’ in a custom timber finish, spanning 15 stories throughout the new building.

Internally, Buro Happold’s structural team devised innovative solutions for the complex spaces radiating from the central atrium and circulation space, known as the ‘Heart’. One such solution was the ‘Heart Wall,’ a concrete frame comprising columns and beams that establishes a boundary between the central core and surrounding workshop spaces. This structure provides primary stability while retaining flexibility in space utilization and service provision.

Our specialist team manufactured and installed over 430m of custom timber LED handrail, incorporating helical, curved, and straight sections, seamlessly integrating with the sweeping concrete ‘heart wall’ stair and adjoining black steel staircases; wall mounted with custom black powder coated steel brackets.

 Mastering an unfinished surface presents a unique design challenge, as production director Marcus Cave describes; “Fixing to a concrete surface demands complete precision, as there’s no room for touch-ups. To address this, our team devised a bespoke fixing method, which involved casting a spigot into pre-drilled holes in the concrete and attaching our bracket directly — so accuracy was key! The team did a fantastic job, delivering this perfectly on a hugely impressive build. Sincere thanks to Buro Happold for the opportunity with our Glowrail product. We’re thrilled with the result!”

 The new home for UAL’s London College of Fashion is conceived as a 21st-century workshop, drawing inspiration from 19th-century mill buildings. Outwardly simple, unpretentious, and robust; it accommodates multiple complex and process-driven internal arrangements, ensuring adaptability to change. The new campus has also now achieved BREEAM Outstanding certification, with Buro Happold delivering engineering strategies that will achieve a 39% reduction in CO2 emissions against the original brief,

The relocation of LCF consolidates departments spread across six London sites for the first time, making it one ofthe world’s largest dedicated spaces for the study and research of fashion upon completion.

 Glowrail - Product information

Glowrail is an innovative LED handrail designed to provide seamless, functional lighting for any location requiring illumination for safety and security.

 The LED handrail is fully tailorable in curved, straight, angular and helical sections, with even light diffusion throughout and is available in a variety of bespoke finishes including stainless steel, timber, mirror polished, powder coated to custom RAL & leather clad. Glowrail LED handrail, can follow the lines of any stairway on three axis and can be fixed to existing walls or free-stand with posts, with harmonised joins and mechanical fixing for discreet architectural integration.

We can specify internally & externally for locations such as stairwells, walkways, offices, balconies, foot/road bridges to bring you the latest in balustrade LED handrail lighting design. We will design and install Glowrail to meet all bespoke specifications without the constraints of standard ‘off-the-shelf’ lengths, to bring you the very best in handrail lighting design.