About Speirs + Major
MORE ABOUT SPEIRS + MAJOR
Mark Major and Keith Bradshaw
Profile
Who are we?
We are an independent, award-winning international design practice that uses light and darkness to enhance the visual environment. Over more than twenty-five years we have completed hundreds of projects around the world ranging from lighting masterplans to pocket parks, major civic buildings to small community spaces; from airports and bridges to cathedrals and monuments. We have helped to shape our profession and set a global benchmark for excellence.
We balance imagination with realism, passion with pragmatism. Through careful collaboration between our multidisciplinary design team, clients and design partners, we ensure that solutions are sustainable and easy to manage. Our projects reveal buildings and spaces in ways that are new, unexpected, and completely integrated – light architecture in its truest sense.
What is Light Architecture?
We practise Light Architecture. A term coined in the early part of the 20th Century, Light Architecture describes the use of electric light in changing the perception of built form and space. For the 21st Century, our practice has evolved our approach to consider how natural and artificial light combine to improve the experience of the built environment, promoting well-being and generating a unique sense of place. We draw on a wide array of technologies and techniques to maximise the possibilities while minimising energy use and environmental impact.
Mark Major
Senior Partner
RIBA FRIAS FIALD RDI
Mark trained and practised as an architect prior to focusing on the unique relationship between light and architecture. He was honoured as a Royal Designer for Industry in 2012, and is currently serving as Master of the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry until 2022.
Mark formed Speirs Major in 2010 with Keith Bradshaw which grew out of Speirs and Major Associates. Speirs Major are recognised as being one of the world’s leading lighting design practices, using light and darkness to enhance the experience of the visual environment.
He has led a wide range of award-winning lighting projects including the Millennium Dome, the refurbishment of Royal Festival Hall and the re-lighting of the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Recent award-winning projects include Gasholders London, The Macallan Distillery and Norwich Cathedral.
He is a specialist in the field of urban lighting and was named as a key city advisor by Monocle in 2013.
Mark acted as the Lighting Design Advisor to the Olympic Delivery Authority for London 2012 and was appointed to the Mayor of London’s Special Assistance team for the Outer London Fund in the same year.
With an active interest in architectural and lighting education Mark has lectured extensively in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, U.S. and Australia. He He was the co-creator of an educational project ‘Made of Light – the Art of Light and Architecture’.
Mark is also a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a Fellow of the International Association of Lighting Designers and a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
Keith Bradshaw
Senior Partner
FRSA IALD
Keith studied fine art before training in architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. This diverse education provided Keith with the opportunity to develop ideas where materials became less important than the atmosphere and experience of space: this led naturally to working with light. His passion and expertise in creating experiences for people through light is evident in the successful outcome of the projects.
Keith formed Speirs Major in 2010 with Mark Major which grew out of Speirs and Major Associates. Speirs Major are recognised as being one of the world’s leading lighting design practices, using light and darkness to enhance the experience of the visual environment.
Keith was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2013 for his work with light. He regularly publishes articles on light in architecture, sits on design juries and has been a keynote speaker at design conferences around the world. He has also lectured extensively and taught practical workshops to a range of students and fellow professionals.
Keith has led many of the practice’s award winning international and UK projects, including 2 co-directed IALD Radiance Award winning projects – the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi in 2010 and In Lumine Tuo, Utrecht in 2014. The Lighting Design Award UK Practice of the Decade, awarded in 2012, recognised the achievements and aspirations of Speirs Major as an ambassador for lighting design.
With more than two decades of project experience, he works internationally whilst based in the UK. His work is wide-ranging in type and scale encompassing lighting for architecture and urban design. The projects Keith leads are notable for their diversity of scale and type from civic buildings, boutique and commercial retail spaces, performance venues, public spaces and commercial projects.
Mark Major and Keith Bradshaw
Profile
Who are we?
We are an independent, award-winning international design practice that uses light and darkness to enhance the visual environment. Over more than twenty-five years we have completed hundreds of projects around the world ranging from lighting masterplans to pocket parks, major civic buildings to small community spaces; from airports and bridges to cathedrals and monuments. We have helped to shape our profession and set a global benchmark for excellence.
We balance imagination with realism, passion with pragmatism. Through careful collaboration between our multidisciplinary design team, clients and design partners, we ensure that solutions are sustainable and easy to manage. Our projects reveal buildings and spaces in ways that are new, unexpected, and completely integrated – light architecture in its truest sense.
What is Light Architecture?
We practise Light Architecture. A term coined in the early part of the 20th Century, Light Architecture describes the use of electric light in changing the perception of built form and space. For the 21st Century, our practice has evolved our approach to consider how natural and artificial light combine to improve the experience of the built environment, promoting well-being and generating a unique sense of place. We draw on a wide array of technologies and techniques to maximise the possibilities while minimising energy use and environmental impact.
Mark Major
Senior Partner
RIBA FRIAS FIALD RDI
Mark trained and practised as an architect prior to focusing on the unique relationship between light and architecture. He was honoured as a Royal Designer for Industry in 2012, and is currently serving as Master of the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry until 2022.
Mark formed Speirs Major in 2010 with Keith Bradshaw which grew out of Speirs and Major Associates. Speirs Major are recognised as being one of the world’s leading lighting design practices, using light and darkness to enhance the experience of the visual environment.
He has led a wide range of award-winning lighting projects including the Millennium Dome, the refurbishment of Royal Festival Hall and the re-lighting of the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Recent award-winning projects include Gasholders London, The Macallan Distillery and Norwich Cathedral.
He is a specialist in the field of urban lighting and was named as a key city advisor by Monocle in 2013.
Mark acted as the Lighting Design Advisor to the Olympic Delivery Authority for London 2012 and was appointed to the Mayor of London’s Special Assistance team for the Outer London Fund in the same year.
With an active interest in architectural and lighting education Mark has lectured extensively in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, U.S. and Australia. He He was the co-creator of an educational project ‘Made of Light – the Art of Light and Architecture’.
Mark is also a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a Fellow of the International Association of Lighting Designers and a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
Keith Bradshaw
Senior Partner
FRSA IALD
Keith studied fine art before training in architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. This diverse education provided Keith with the opportunity to develop ideas where materials became less important than the atmosphere and experience of space: this led naturally to working with light. His passion and expertise in creating experiences for people through light is evident in the successful outcome of the projects.
Keith formed Speirs Major in 2010 with Mark Major which grew out of Speirs and Major Associates. Speirs Major are recognised as being one of the world’s leading lighting design practices, using light and darkness to enhance the experience of the visual environment.
Keith was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2013 for his work with light. He regularly publishes articles on light in architecture, sits on design juries and has been a keynote speaker at design conferences around the world. He has also lectured extensively and taught practical workshops to a range of students and fellow professionals.
Keith has led many of the practice’s award winning international and UK projects, including 2 co-directed IALD Radiance Award winning projects – the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi in 2010 and In Lumine Tuo, Utrecht in 2014. The Lighting Design Award UK Practice of the Decade, awarded in 2012, recognised the achievements and aspirations of Speirs Major as an ambassador for lighting design.
With more than two decades of project experience, he works internationally whilst based in the UK. His work is wide-ranging in type and scale encompassing lighting for architecture and urban design. The projects Keith leads are notable for their diversity of scale and type from civic buildings, boutique and commercial retail spaces, performance venues, public spaces and commercial projects.
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