Lighting The Tower’s Flowers
The historic moat surrounding the Tower of London was adorned with millions of colourful wildflowers over the summer of 2022, to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The now even more poignant event – called Superbloom – ran throughout the days and some evenings.
On those evenings, the colours of the flowers were richly enhanced and accentuated using tailored lighting. WE-EF collaborated with Japan and Singapore-based lighting designers Nipek, and Beam Lighting Design located in the UK, to provide a truly global solution.
Interactive and inclusive design
Shigeki Fujii, Principal at Nipek, was very proud to work on such a special project:
“The installation was designed to be interactive and inclusive, with a slide entrance into the moat and paths for people to walk through the wildflowers, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in nature. With flowers blooming at different times – and a desire for the attraction to be spectacular both day and night – we required lighting that could respond to changes in the natural colour environment.”
Sebastian Winnig, Head of Sales EMEA for WE-EF, commented on the solution: “Our responsibility was to ensure that in the evenings, guests could not only view the flowers but also appreciate them in their finest light. The flower display changed in natural colour every two-to-three weeks, due to the planting of specially formulated seeds intended to flower at different times, and the lighting had to reflect this change.”
Initially, WE-EF explored using white projectors and colour filters. The challenge here was that installing over 65 projectors on the perimeter walls would be very labour intensive. Not to mention having to change the colour filters to provide different lighting schemes at different stages of the installation.
Instead, the final lighting solution used WE-EF FLC260-CC RGBW LED projectors whose colour could be changed via Bluetooth, giving the lighting designers great flexibility over the colour schemes.
Remote control provides flexibility
The projectors were integrated with DMX control drivers linked to Casambi modules. Casambi is a wireless lighting control solution, allowing the lights’ colours to be changed remotely via an app.
Using a wireless lighting control also meant there was no need for personnel to physically change colour filters whenever the display demanded a new effect. Each group of lights around the installation was connected via Bluetooth using the Casambi app on a phone or tablet. This allowed the lighting designer the flexibility to adjust the colours of each group of lights independently, even when walking inside the moat, creating a striking effect.
Using a photocell to detect ambient light, the power to the groups of lights was turned on once the natural light dropped below a specified level, with the resulting display of colour and light intensity having been set via the Casambi app.
To illuminate the moat sufficiently, spotlights were mounted on top of two walls surrounding it, strengthening the shooting distance of light. Careful installation was required to prevent any damage to one of the nation’s most beloved historical sites, and a protective layer on the Tower’s walls was introduced to minimise potential impact.
Durability was another consideration, as there were plans to reuse the lighting once Superbloom came to an end. WE-EF’s unique 5CE system – with its long-lasting anti-corrosion properties – ensured the lighting remained vibrant and can be reused in other legacy events and locations within the Historic Royal Palaces beyond the duration of the exhibition.
A great success
WE-EF is privileged to have worked on such an incredible display at a unique, historic building, honouring the remarkable lifetime of service of Queen Elizabeth II.
Commenting on the success of the project, Sebastian adds: “Finding the most suitable lighting solution for this prestigious project was only possible due to the great work of everyone involved, including the support we received from the Fagerhult UK team in London, our sister company, who worked around the clock to help ensure the installation was completed in time.”
Eva Koch-Schulte from Historic Royal Palaces praised the display:
“Superbloom was created from barren ground, against the odds and, at times, under challenging circumstances. This project was a great success thanks to everyone involved. It was such a pleasure to hear the positive visitor comments and to see people of all ages enjoy the experience of the flowers, day and night. The lighting brought out a magical quality in the flowers at night – they seemed to glow from within.”
Shigeki Fujii adds: “In addition to WE-EF’s incredible expertise, our firm was also very appreciative of the help received from Beam Lighting Design. It’s a very special project and everyone worked closely to bring it together.”
Principal: Historic Royal Palaces
Landscape Architect: Grant Associates, Nigel Dunnett
Lighting Designer: Nipek, Beam Lighting Design
Photos: Richard Lea-Hair © Historic Royal Palaces