Weston Library

A customised Basis Track version of Precision Lighting’s Pico range was specified to illuminate the literary treasures found within Oxford University’s historic Bodleian Libraries.

130 specially adapted variants of the discreet LED spotlights were incorporated into this sublime refurbishment of the Weston Library that serves as the new home for the Bodleian’s special collections, including the Gutenberg Bible and Shakespeare’s First Folio. The Pico spotlights were finished in a superior rubbed bronze; ensuring perfect architectural integration into the wider environment of the Library.

To ensure harmonisation, the Pico spotlights were mounted on the Basis track system from Precision, similarly styled in a complementary rubbed bronze finish.

Precision worked closely with renowned Italian case suppliers, Goppion, to deliver vertical mounting of the lighting track system in prestige display cabinets to best illuminate the works in the Bodleian Library’s collection.

Precision’s Project Manager, Jack Mcleod, explains the co-operation:

“Architectural integration was key to the design scheme, and these bespoke variants of Pico were a perfect answer.

“The delicate finishing was essential and the subtle form-factor of Pico delivered the flexibility required for the vertical mounting in the Goppion cabinets”.

The renovation of the Weston Library was undertaken by award-winning architectural practice Wilkinson Eyre, who were tasked with opening up the building to better improve public access to this important site for academic research; including provisions for exhibition space.

The refurbishment has won praise from the Library’s staff, with Madeline Slaven, Head of Exhibitions at the Bodleian Libraries explaining: “The Pico light fitting gives us the flexibility to add, or take away lights to suit the display, and to position the fitting exactly where we need it.  They work extremely well whether we are lighting a caption to be easily read or providing quite low-level illumination on an exhibit such as Magna Carta.“

Wilkson Eyre were tasked with refurbishing the Weston Library as a cultural landmark; and with this successful scheme, the Library joins a pedigree of institutions, including Hampton Court Palace, and London’s Imperial War Museum, that have benefited from the superior benefits that Pico brings to museums and galleries.

Spotlights from across the Pico family have won acclaim from architects and lighting consultants alike thanks to the lockable low friction bearing 360-degree pan mechanism that ensures flexibility for changing exhibition spaces.

The lockable tilt option found in Pico has also won plaudits; with a constant torque tilt mechanism ensuring perfect beam positioning, Pico has become a fond favourite in lighting museums and exhibitions across the globe.