’The Deep’ boasts the deepest water tank in Europe. This and the 11 tanks are home to seven species of shark and thousands of other fish. These range in size from the ‘Endless Oceans’ tank which holds 2.3 million litres of salt water to the smaller ‘Jewel’ tanks which hold just 1 cubic metre. The interior spaces are strongly influenced by the physical nature of the ocean and maximum use is made of the three dimensional spaces. At the building's core, a concrete structure containing the main fish tank recreates the conditions found in the Pacific.
For the above tank lighting, Waterman Gore called in Jonathan Hilton of Lighting Technology to work alongside their US consultant, Chris Baldwin, in order to establish the lighting concept. As such, the structure and the lighting installed above the various tanks by Lighting Technology, has been designed to create a sensation of immersion within the ocean environment. In order to create this impression, an array of ‘variable focus’ fittings were selected from the Astralux range of marine searchlights. Within the confines of the scheme it was viewed that the searchlight route would give the best combination of durability as well as scope to specifically enhance certain aspects of the differing tanks.
An example of this is the general highlighting of the various coral areas and the further need to provide beams of light, as defined as 2°, to recreate shafts of daylight slicing through the waters of The Deep. The luminaires range in size from 70W to 700W metal halide fixtures and ultimately 1k Xenon searchlights. In total, 62 fittings were used. "One significant benefit of using the metal halide approach was the greater lamp life on offer when compared to their tungsten halogen counterparts - a prime consideration when lamps are being replaced over shark infested waters!" explained Hilton.
Additionally, Lighting Technology supplied a Unison control system to reduce the light output into the pool and tank areas at ‘night time’. A fact worth noting is that if all the lighting were to be switched off after viewing hours, the sharks would eat all the other fish in the Submarium! The project manager for the installation, Terry Reeves, of Lighting Technology Projects, said: "Through close liaison with various parties, including Scenic Route, Bovis Lend Lease and Waterman Gore, we successfully carried out the installation and commissioning on time. With the unusual aspect of lighting shark tanks, lagoons and touch pools this was a genuinely interesting and challenging project to work on."
(Lee Baldock)
