Great Belt Bridge goes green with SGM
- Details
At the same time, the eye-catching installation on the world’s third largest suspension bridge was an experiment with energy-reducing LED fixtures. The lighting for the occasion was designed by ÅF Lighting for client Sund og Bælt, the owner of the bridge.
“We wanted to create a professional architectural façade lighting, with beautiful even lighting from the roadway and all the way up to the top of the pylon, while leaving out unwanted highlights. The pylons are 254m high and the luminaires was placed next to the roadway at 68m height, which resulted in an approximately 186m vertical structure to light up,” said ÅF Lighting’s electrical and lighting engineer, Frederik Waneck Borello.
Using SGM’s P-10s, I-5s, and P-5s, supplied by VIGSØ A/S, ÅF Lighting was able to create a magical green illumination on one of the two pylons on the fixed link, which consists of two bridges and a tunnel.
“We used the P-10, with its powerful output, to light up the tall vertical sides. To smoothen out the light from the P-10, we used the P-5 with various lenses for both the lowest parts and the middle section. Finally, for the tallest part of pylon, we used the i-5 with the much narrower beam,” explained Borello and continued.
“For a large-scale application like this one, it is a huge advantage to use luminaires with a high lumen package. Otherwise, you have to install multiple luminaires, which can ruin the aesthetics of the architecture and demands more time for fine-tuning. This installation was my introduction to SGM’s extremely powerful P-10, which worked great for this project.”
Before taking down the luminaires, the client gave ÅF lighting permission to test a variety of light settings to learn more about color usage on huge structures for future projects. While the graduation of red to orange gave association to a sunset, the all red illumination could be used for Christmas and other occasions.
“I especially like SGM’s P-2 and Q-2 because you get a massive output in a very small footprint. As I can use less fixtures with less wiring and cables, I don’t have to worry about ruining the aesthetics of a building’s or structure’s surroundings,” said Borello, who also explained that it was an important factor that more than 35.000 vehicles cross the long, fixed link every single day, adding up to 10 million vehicles a year. With a price reduction, however, this number is expected to grow by 4.500 vehicles each day.
“I always consider the environment where the installation will be set up. That includes the users. You want to create a beautiful light installation without causing unnecessary light pollution. In this case, we needed to ensure any unwanted glare on the many crossing cars. The light must compliment the setting, not work against it,” said Borello.
(Jim Evans)
