01582 369005 Lighting is a fundamental component of all spaces, but artificial lighting can influence the perception of a room.
Ensuring you have an appropriate lighting solution for your type of fitout is crucial to utilise an area best, whether that’s overhead and task lighting to support human-centric working environments or using accent lighting to highlight areas of interest.
In this blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about the types of fitouts and the lighting solutions our experts at Mount Lighting can provide. You’ll find answers to the following questions:
- What is a CAT A fitout?
- What is a CAT B fitout?
- What is a CAT A+ fitout?
What is a CAT A fitout?
When a building undergoes refurbishment or has been constructed, and the shell and core are fitted, the process’s next stage is known as Category A or CAT A.
CAT A ultimately transforms the shell and core into a basic yet functional finish. Most CAT A fitouts involve installing electrics for lighting and plug points, air conditioning systems and plumbing for toilets, putting in access floors, and anything a working environment requires.
Often a CAT A will be referred to as the ’empty shell’ category A landlord fitout phase. This stage makes the building suitable for commercial renting. The services installed at this point are not tailored to the end user’s needs, but the space is usually geared up to provide flexibility for the next stage when the tenants move in.
Our lighting experts are renowned for bringing desolate spaces to life, adding new dimensions to a building’s core. Our team were proud to be chosen as lighting suppliers for a CAT A fitout to a 120-year-old Victorian building, transforming it from a warehouse to a contemporary office, utilising our M-Line Linear Range, Force and Halo suspended lighting and Surfaspot emergency lighting.
What is a CAT B fitout?
More often than not, CAT B fitouts are typically the most common type. A Category B fitout is carried out in a CAT A space, but it now involves installing everything else that is required to help a workplace function, as well as introducing the design aesthetics and tenant’s company branding.
This fitout stage is when the designers can get their creative juices flowing by designing the floor layout, installing internal walls, sectioning out open workspaces, individual offices and meeting rooms and breakout communal spaces.
For the team at Mount, getting our lighting design specialists involved in the beginning stages of a CAT B project is essential, helping you to avoid making costly mistakes in the lighting design process and adding significant value. We’ll work with the interior designer and electrical contractor to provide the most sustainable and energy-efficient lighting, Casambi wireless lighting controls, correct emergency lighting layout and calculate lux levels for task areas, ensuring everything is correct and avoiding going over budget. Getting it right from the start guarantees we can stay within the time frame when completing the project.
The team has worked on a wide range of CAT B fitouts nationwide, delivering our expertise to partner the right CAT B lighting solution. One of our favourite CAT B projects we completed was the online software development and gaming business on Berners Street and a gaming company on The Strand, where we supplied a selection of bespoke lighting solutions to suit each workspace.
What is a CAT A+ fitout?
Cat A+ is the middle ground between a CAT A and CAT B fitout, often where a landlord combines the elements of both category phases and presents an enticing option for tenants who want to benefit from moving in straight away and starting work without the delay and expense of carrying out their own CAT B fitout.
This ‘plug and play’ concept has many benefits for both the landlord and the tenant. The landlord will receive rent immediately and can command a higher rate with a furnished workplace readily available. The tenant avoids paying for the space that cannot be used while the CAT B fitout occurs. They can move in with everything ready to go. All they need to do is add some branding!
On the downside, CAT A Plus can limit the customisation of the space due to restrictions put in place by the landlord. CAT A+ tend to have the same generic format to appeal to a large pool of potential tenants and with the culture of needing ‘resimercial’ workspaces for lots of companies trying to appeal to bringing hybrid or remote workers back to the social workplace.
One of the CAT A+ lighting fitouts our team are proud to have worked on was a collaboration with office design company Oktra, supplying a selection of suspended and recessed LED linear M-Line luminaires, to meet the consultant’s design outlines, including manufacturing a bespoke 1200 x 300 LED panel with air handling slots to reduce the cooling load on the air-conditioning system. The luminaires blend in perfectly with the ceiling and help uphold the sleek finish while boosting the functionality of the office.
Our team can help customise the lighting of a CAT A+ space even when the new tenants have moved in, using Casambi controls, making it feel more personalised and assisting employees in taking control of their working environment, from dimming to temperature control. To learn more about the benefits of intelligent wireless lighting in boosting productivity and well-being, look at our attracting employees back to work blog.
CAT A lighting solutions
M-Line Linear Range
Our M-Line Linear range is the perfect solution for CAT A spaces, with the ability to create anything from accentuated lighting to show-stopping centrepieces.
Due to the modular nature of the product, it can be customised when a CAT A space needs converting to the CAT B stage, making it a sustainable lighting solution.
Check out the M-Line range today.
CAT A+ lighting solutions
T-Line Tubular LED Range
With the T-Line range, you can explore infinite configuration possibilities, enabling you to join pieces to form bespoke shapes and geometric patterns, adding a touch of uniqueness to your space while providing workplace benefits for users – the perfect balance of form and function.
Click here to check out the T-Line Tubular LED Range.
CAT B lighting solutions
Floe-Line Range
Enhance your new commercial space with the Floe-Line with sleek curves and angles, allowing you to bend light in any combination meandering through your tailored workplace.
Light the way with the Floe-Line Range.
Contact the team for lighting design expertise
Need a lighting solution for a CAT A, CAT A+, or CAT B fitout? Let Mount light the way. For advice and assistance with finding the right commercial lighting solution or Casambi wireless lighting controls for your space, don’t hesitate to contact our experts today.
