Barker Road Methodist Church

Located on Barker Road and being historically linked to the Anglo-Chinese School, the Barker Road Methodist Church has undergone various renovations and development from the 1950s until its latest rebuild in 1991. The church required comprehensive sanctuary upgrades to enhance safety, accessibility, acoustic, and lighting features. The Cundall team was tasked with enhancing the worship spaces lighting design. With an emphasis on blending heritage, modern functionality, and long-term sustainability into the design. 

The proposed lighting design within the church focused on creating a spiritually uplifting and visually comforting environment. The team's design was anchored by a circadian lighting system. This system automatically adjusts the light brightness and colour temperature throughout the day, being brighter and warmer during daytime service and then progressively becoming tonally softer for evening worship. The teams use of this system elevated the space, making it more adaptable for both traditional and contemporary services.

Indirect linear lighting was integrated into the acoustic panel systems, allowing for light to softly beam across the wall and ceiling surfaces. The team chose this design approach as it reduced glare and minimised shadows while creating a gentle ambient glow in the space.  

To further support public worship events, the team incorporated a dedicated RGBW stage lighting system to provide full colour mixing capabilities for seasonal programs, choir, and mass-related performances. All stage lights were connected to a centralised control system, allowing for simple operation through a digital interface.  

Through the team's hard work and collaboration with external bodies, we were able to modernise this important place of worship, bring new life to a heritage site within the local Singapore community.