The Øresund Bridge, known worldwide for its leading role in the Scandinavian hit television series ‘The Bridge’, is part of the road and rail link between Sweden and Denmark. It accounts for half the length of the link, approx. 8 km, including the four 203,5 m high pylons supporting the bridge span. The fixed link has made it easy to live on the one side of Øresund and work on the other, and as a result, commuting by car and train has increased dramatically, with approx. 32,100 daily commuters by car, since the bridge opened to the public in July 2000.
As part of an energy-optimising plan and an upcoming 20-year anniversary for the bridge, the Øresund Bridge Consortium decided to replace the 20-year-old lighting solution with a new and improved lighting installation. In this connection, Light Bureau was tasked with providing a complete lighting solution, including technical advisory, lighting design, project planning, custom designed constructions, technical infrastructure, establishment and programming.
The standard lighting scenario is white, with a nice even lighting on the pylons, however, to mark the 20-year anniversary of the bridge, Light Bureau designed a colourful event scenario on the pylons.
After numerous night visits to this picturesque site and watching the sun set and rise on the horizon, Light Bureau’s designers proposed to create a site-specific lighting concept, that portrayed these magnificent colours and recreate this sense impression. Thus, the event lighting scenarios are inspired by the bridge’s unique location and dynamically mimics the fantastic colour transformations on the sky and the beautiful blue sea during blue and golden hours. Additionally, the event scenario includes a visual interpretation of the national flags of Sweden and Denmark, as a tribute to their close relation and how this beautiful bridge links the two Scandinavian neighbours. The event lighting was switched on in the evening during the celebratory event on July 1st, 2020, and for five days anyone visiting the area or crossing the bridge got to experience a unique lighting design on the pylons every evening.
The entire system is custom-made to fit the construction, withstand the harsh wind and weather conditions at the Øresund Bridge, and minimize glare and shadows from the suspended wire-cables. The lighting is created with 192 LED RGBW luminaires, which can be individual controlled by DMX. The use of narrow-beam optics and precise dimming of the luminaires minimises waste light and thus reduce light pollution and save energy. The Øresund Bridge Consortium expects that the new lighting system, will reduce consumption and create a considerable energy saving of up to 80% compared to the old lighting system.
The new lighting system is a dynamic solution, where both energy efficiency and aesthetics are paramount. It allows the client to work with coloured lighting in several layers on special occasions and can be used to express the brand and identity of the bridge in the future.
This project was realised in close cooperation between Light Bureau, the subcontractors and the Øresund Bridge Consortium.
