The large-scale fiberglass sculpture of three dolphins frolicking in a fountain is the creation of renowned artist Robert Dow Reid, whose works of art are often inspired by the sea and aquatic life.
A focal point of Kelowna’s waterfront, until recently, the 20ft statue was not garnering the attention it deserved because of poor lighting, supplied by outdated metal halide lamps. Recognising that the statue could benefit from an upgrade to its appearance, Marriot Hotel contacted Macs II Agencies, which represents power, electrical, lighting and lighting controls manufacturers throughout British Columbia and Yukon Territory.
Kelly Kozar, project and specifications representative for Macs II Agencies, said: “In replacing the existing lighting, we wanted the ability to add colour and increase the lighting levels on the dolphins. After a thorough investigation, we realised that we needed a product with hardwire and wireless control ability that was suitable for a very wet environment. This led us to specify Aqua Drum and Aria from Acclaim Lighting.”
Aqua Drum Family Series is a high output, submersible, LED flood fixture. The IP68-rated fixture features an all-stainless-steel construction with an optional in-grade housing mounting. It is available in multiple colour temperatures of white and colour changing versions (RGBW and RGBA) and is ideal for fountains, ponds and various landscape applications.
Complementing Aqua Drum with its built-in internal receiver, the Aria DMX system is a compact, local, outdoor-rated wireless DMX system that can also be hardwired. Its transceiver can act as either the sending or receiving point with up to 15 channels on the 2.4 GHz band. 14 Aqua Drum fixtures were mounted in the bottom of the fountain and around the statue.
The beam angle was set at 40×40 to highlight the intricacies of the three dolphins. Using eight high output and six standard output Aqua Drum RGBW (3000K) fixtures, the units deliver 3,259 and 1,600lm, while consuming only 36 and 18W
operating on 100-270 voltage.
The lighting system also incorporated the Art 500, a touch panel DMX Controller with 1,024 DMX channels and 500 programmable scenes, to provide powerful control features for setting precise colours on the statue.
“We increased the lighting levels on the dolphins while maintaining the power consumption,” said Kozar.
“The big change was adding and controlling the colour, which provides dynamic lighting effects. Since it was the first colour-changing installation authorised by the City of Kelowna, we were happy that the City was so happy with the final results.”
“We have also received positive feedback from the residents. As a result of all the buzz associated with the newly lit statue, the nearby hotel is now considering upgrading its landscape and building façade with similar products and colour-changing capabilities as a means to spotlight seasonal changes and local community events.”
