TK Maxx HQ features reused and restored pendants
The parent company of TK Maxx is featuring reconditioned and restored pendants in the sustainability-orientated fit-out of its Watford headquarters.
Home to the TK Maxx and Homesense brands, TJX Europe’s new campus has been adorned with a large run of decorative opaline pendants which have been sourced and reconditioned by specialist vintage lighting firm Skinflint.
A collaboration between Sheppard Robson and ID:SR, the office brings together around 1,500 employees.
Sustainability was a key driver for the project, as was creating healthy spaces that boost productivity.
The team says that the approach can be seen throughout the building with visible design elements such as the restored vintage lights – converted with the latest LED technology – and more subtle operational features behind the scenes.
Skinflint will even take the lights back when they are no longer required. In 2021,Skinflint introduced its ‘Full Circle’ scheme, which went on to win a prestigious Build Back Better Award.
Under the plan, returned lights are then repaired, restored and recertified by and placed back into the market.
Skinflint supplies bars, restaurants, hotels, workplaces and private homes all over the world with light fittings.
‘The work we do at Skinflint is based on respecting and preserving the heritage of each piece,’ says company co-founder Chris Miller.
Skinflint supplies bars, restaurants, hotels, workplaces and private homes with light fittings.
In recent years, pre-used industrial high bays, pendants and wall lights have become highly fashionable for their ‘retro’ over-engineered appeal.
Skinflint sources them from derelict factories across Europe, refurbishes them and tests them for electrical safety before putting them back on the market.
The company finds lights on sourcing trips across the UK and to former Eastern Bloc countries.
Buildings in which the company sourced lamps include the the former Pirelli warehouse and the Cockenzie Power Station.
• Diary date: Circular Lighting Live 2024, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Wednesday 9 October 2024 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2024 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live
Picture: Jack Hobhouse
