The Lighting For Mecca Bourke Street
Mecca Bourke Street, Melbourne 2025
STEP INSIDE THE LIGHTING AND CASAMBI LIGHTING CONTROL Mecca’s Melbourne flagship.
Retail doesn’t get much better than this, the largest beauty destination in the world.
Once upon a time, 299 Bourke Street was the biggest, most wondrous bookstore on the planet. Today, it has been reimagined into something equally extraordinary — Mecca’s Melbourne flagship, the largest beauty destination in the world.
THE LIGHTING FOR MECCA FLAGSHIP, BOURKE STREET.
Having collaborated with Mecca on over 110 stores for over a decade, this project was by far the biggest we’ve undertaken. Set across 4000 square metres — the size of the MCG (if the MCG was 4000 square metres) — the flagship stands as a new benchmark for Australian retail. Terms like world-class get thrown around often, but in this case, the description is an understatement.
PROJECT CREDITS
- Mecca Store Dev Team
- Studio McQualter
- L’Observatoire International
- MPW Electrical
- ambience
Decibel Fixed Surface Mounted
Piccolo Surface/Concealed
Lighting played a critical role in bringing the vision to life, working with Studio McQualter and L’Observatoire International, the project featured a number of luminaires from the Andro and Symphony Lighting ranges. Specialised theatre filters for dramatic scene setting, while custom architectural lighting was designed to perfectly complement beauty products, ensuring true-to-life colour and foundation matching. Lightbox illumination was installed for makeup artistry, delivering shadow-free lighting for flawless application. Our team carefully angled luminaires to ensure precise distribution of light, avoiding illumination spill into areas that didn’t need to be lit.
Art also sits at the heart of the flagship. An eight-metre mural by Amsterdam duo Freeling Waters anchors the space, alongside curated works by international and Australian female artists including Nabilah Nordin, Julie Rrap, Atong Atem, Bethan Laura Woods, Christina Zimpel, and Patricia Piccinini. These installations were enhanced with gallery-style spots and projectors, framing each piece with museum-grade precision.
Adding further depth to the design, over 90 decorative lighting fixtures sourced globally — from vintage finds to bespoke creations — were refurbished at ambience HQ and integrated into the design.
PROJECT CREDITS
- GID Electrical,
- Buildcorp
- LEEDA
- R&G Electrical
- Zimmermann
- Holders Technology
PHOTOGRAPHY
- Hugh Davies, Sean Fennessey, Supplied/Mecca
Casambi Lighting Control at Mecca Cosmetics Flagship Store, Melbourne
ambience brought a new level of sophistication to Mecca’s flagship Melbourne store with the integration of Casambi lighting control, delivering nuanced light level accuracy across the iconic three-level retail destination. The system seamlessly manages an extensive mix of answers to lighting questions, including track lights, spotlights, bespoke chandeliers, wall lights, pendants, DMX fixtures, and indoor and outdoor signage. This comprehensive control ensures that every element — from architectural features to product displays — is beautifully illuminated.
Casambi’s smart functionality allows the lighting to adjust dynamically throughout the day, maintaining perfect ambience (guess if the pun was intended) while reducing energy consumption. The result is a cutting-edge lighting scheme that transforms the building into a true “cosmetic palace,” enhancing every step of the customer beauty journey.
Behind the scenes, the system’s sensor logic has been carefully designed to provide effortless convenience for staff and visitors moving across multiple zones. In staff areas, a considered mix of motion sensors, dimmers, wall switches, and colour temperature control ensures an energy-efficient and virtually maintenance-free environment. In retail zones, dimmers, relays, and timers create tailored brightness for each area, setting the tone during trading hours and after hours. In service zones, the integration of dimmers, switches, and timers elevates the customer experience, supporting the Mecca brand’s immersive retail journey.
Perhaps most impressively, the entire lighting scheme across all three levels can be managed from a single smartphone or tablet, offering effortless control at the touch of a button. With Casambi at its heart, the lighting design delivers flexibility, efficiency, and impact — redefining how illumination enhances both brand and visitor experience. The result is a seamless blend of art, retail, and atmosphere.
When the flagship opened, more than 20,000 people attended, with eager beaver customers lining Bourke Street from as early as 4am. For us, the project represents not just a store, but a milestone — a world-class showcase of how thoughtful lighting can shape experience, elevate brand identity, and set new standards for retail design.
