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Product Stories
Lighting
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LTP
installs British Airways
Lighting
Product Stories Published: 20 January
2007 The installation has been completed by Lighting Technology Projects and features 640 Color Kinetics ColorCast 14 fixtures. These were supplied via their UK distributor, Architainment Lighting Ltd. A permanent lighting scheme was always part of the architects’ Marks Barfield plans for the London Eye’s graceful 135 meter diameter, which until now has been lit by a “stop-gap” installation of fluorescents. While functional, this did the structure’s majesty and its fabulous architectural complexity no justice. The ultimate goal was always to have a nice even, smooth, seamless coverage of the London Eye’s unique steel framework – and a flexible lighting scheme that fulfilled several fundamental and practical roles. Firstly, it had to be illuminated to meet Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) requirements, and as lighting from below would make it invisible from above, any lighting of the Eye had to come from within its structure. This immediately suggested taking advantage of being able to diffuse lightsources over the steelwork. The original creative brief from Marks Barfield was for the London Eye’s standard lighting state to be a ‘breathing white’ effect. They also wanted to be able to change the colour easily and safely – maximising its potential for special occasions, anniversaries and promotional opportunities. Advancements in LED technology in the intervening period led them towards environmentally expedient, adaptable lighting sources that were easier to change and maintain than traditional luminaires. Dyer and his colleagues examined various options and decided on Color Kinetics as a manufacturer. After demonstrations and a mock up, they chose the ColorCast fixture – an off the shelf IP66 rated product. Factors like build quality and general toughness of the fixture were key in the final decision - considering the hostile environment to which they’d be exposed. South Wales-based Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) was recommended to undertake the installation work by CK and Architainment. ColorCast is CK’s highest output linear Powercore fixture, and this was also significant in the choice explains LTP’s Terry Reeves. “It simplifies the installation by integrating power and data management directly within the fixture, eliminating the need for external low voltage power or data supplies”. Inbuilt power factor correction also significantly increases the overall system efficiency, minimizing stress on the wiring infrastructure whilst enhancing the system's cost effectiveness. Installation commenced in November 2006 and was led for LTP by Jonathan Adkins and their site supervisor Ashley Wood, plus 8 technicians. They worked closely with Kevin Dyer and his team, including their technical operations manager, Kevin Bainbridge. Their biggest challenge was physically working on the Eye at one of the coldest, windiest and wettest times of the year. It is a difficult environment in which to work at height, access is tricky and there were long nights as they couldn’t start until the attraction closed at 8 p.m. Before the new installation started, LTP also removed all the temporary scheme’s 5ft fluorescents. Each was replaced by 5 ColorCasts fitted on a custom bracket, attached to the rim in the base of each capsule joint bracket. This is right at the junction point where all the steel spokes meet above the capsule, and the process is repeated around the circumference of the Eye. The ColorCasts have a 90 degree beam angle, and the tray is set at 45 degrees, shining onto the metal and highlighting both faces of the trussing. The results are absolutely spectacular! When illuminated, the majestic structure shimmers, glows and looks stunning against the skyline and from all the vantage points along the river and various bridges. It gives an already impressive feat of engineering and design a new lease of life after dark. A Pharos system was specified for control. An Ethernet based controller was eliminated due to the risk of the lights blacking out if the controller was lost – as the CAA requirement is for the structure to be lit at all times. DMX alleviates that problem - even if there was a computer crash, the fixtures would remain on. Pharos is a solid state system and therefore non volatile and extremely robust – a serious issue as the controllers have to live outdoors 365 days a year in a continually rotating and vibrating environment, plus all the other environmental and operational demands. LTP has also used Pharos on a number of architectural installations with great success, and with the company being London based, support is immediately on hand if needed. They collaborated with Nick Archdale of Pharos who supplied two of their LPC 2s (lighting playback controllers) which are synchronized, with one running each half of the Eye. These two are housed in IP65 casings and communicate via wireless Ethernet to a third LPC2 controller which runs the jetty and pier lighting. The CK fixtures are uniquely addressed, allowing effects to run around the perimeter of the wheel. Pharos is also designed for remote management. The units have an internal web server with an active web page and can be monitored, re-programmed and controlled by accessing the IP addresses via a web page. With a great public reaction and everyone at the British Airways London Eye delighted with the results, Terry Reeves stresses the exacting nature of the project, saying, “The high profile of the attraction really ramped up the pressure on everyone, and I’m extremely proud of all our technicians and engineers who have worked on this. Their level of commitment has been second to none and the quality of the site work exceptionally high”.
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