Mediclinic International · Stellenbosch head office
Case study · Commercial & office
Mediclinic International · Stellenbosch head office
Case study · Commercial & office
Executive summary
Mediclinic International took over the former BAT building in Stellenbosch as its new head office and used the refurbishment to move the whole building off fluorescent lighting. We supplied 1,748 backlit LED panels selected on four criteria the client set itself: a five-year warranty, backlit construction, local manufacture, and demonstrated compliance with the required illuminance levels.
1748
Backlit LED panels supplied
Figures are estimates derived from project close-out data and standard operating assumptions. They will vary with tariff, run hours and site conditions, and are indicative of this project rather than a guarantee of results on another site.
The project
Taking over an existing building is different from fitting out a new one. The ceiling grid and the circuit layout are both inherited, and the refurbishment programme runs to a move-in date that does not move. The client had decided to invest in LED rather than re-lamp the existing fluorescent installation. That costs more on day one and is only defensible if the fittings are still performing a decade later.
That put the weight of the project onto specification rather than installation. With 1,748 panels going into a single building, a poor selection becomes a building-wide failure with a single point of origin.
The client set four selection criteria and we specified against them rather than against price. A five-year warranty, because at this volume the warranty term is the real risk transfer. Backlit construction rather than edge-lit, for more even luminance across the diffuser and better long-term uniformity as the panel ages. Local manufacture, so replacement panels years later come from the same line and match rather than arriving as a visibly different white. And demonstrated compliance with the illuminance levels the working areas required, evidenced rather than claimed.
The 600 × 600 panel that met all four went in across the refurbishment. Panels were supplied to the client's appointed electrical contractor, who installed to the refurbishment programme.
| Area | Legacy installation | Lamphouse specification |
|---|---|---|
| Office floors, meeting rooms and circulation | Existing fluorescent installation (inherited from the previous occupier) | Backlit LED panel, 600 × 600, locally manufactured, five-year warranty, 1,748 units |
Why it worked
Carried forward
Letting the client set the selection criteria up front made this project straightforward. Four written criteria turned a specification argument into a compliance check, and there was nothing to negotiate once a fitting either met them or did not.
Supporting references
Tell us the areas, the hours they run, the lux you need to hit and your capex envelope. We'll come back inside the week with a design, a fitting schedule and a payback model.
Related: Commercial & office LED