This fine courtyard was restored in the late 1980s to its former glory providing a wonderful space in the middle of the Foreign Office. To enable its successful illumination appropriate access at roof level was integrated into the roof structure allowing lighting equipment to be located at high level to wash the highly decorated facades and highlight appropriate features.

As the courtyard was to be used for social gatherings we felt it important that the lighting also responded to human scale thus the idea of including eight torcheres framing the four steps was established. dpa designed the special torcheres with their marble plinths and appropriately decorated upper elements to achieve the desired effect. The fixtures are actually 3.5 metres high as anything less would have been an inappropriate proportion in this space, but this scale was entirely appropriate to create warmth and interest at low level when the volume was occupied.