The moat surrounding the Tower of London was adorned with millions of colourful wildflowers to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The event, conceived and run by Historic Royal Palaces, was called Superbloom and ran throughout the summer.
At night, the colours of the flowers were richly enhanced and accentuated using tailored lighting. Japan and Singapore-based lighting designers Nipek, and Beam Lighting Design based in the UK, collaborated to create this summer spectacle.
Shigeki Fujii, Principal at Nipek, commented: “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 – the lighting was required to respond to changes in the natural colour environment.”
Initially, Nipek explored using white projectors and colour filters. But, 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 solution used WE-EF FLC 260 RGBW LED projectors whose colour can be changed via Bluetooth, giving Nipek great flexibility over the colour schemes.
The projectors were integrated with DMX control drivers linked to Casambi modules – a wireless lighting control solution – allowing the lights’ colours to be changed remotely.
Wireless lighting control also meant there was no need for personnel to physically change colour filters whenever the display demanded a new effect. Nipek could simply adjust the colours using the Casambi app, even when walking inside the moat, creating a striking effect.
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 the historical site.
Durability was another consideration, as there were plans to reuse the lighting after Superbloom. WE-EF’s 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.
Eva Koch-Schulte from Historic Royal Palaces said: “Superbloom was created from barren ground, against the odds and, at times, under challenging circumstances. This project has been a great success thanks to everyone involved. It’s 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 brings out a magical quality in the flowers at night – they seem to glow from within.”
Shigeki Fujii adds: “Our firm was very appreciative of the help received from Beam Lighting Design. It’s a very special project and everyone worked closely to bring it together.”
