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Jun 2006


Melbourne Skyscraper Lights Up!

120 Collins Street’s lighting design compliments Australian athletes as they take out gold in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Upon completion in 1991, the 120 Collins Street skyscraper stood as the largest building on the Melbourne Skyline. Comprising of 52 floors and a 42-metre high communication tower, the postmodern inspired design attained numerous awards for building excellence.

Laservision was recently engaged by Australia’s ‘Investa Property Group’ to design and implement a permanent external lighting solution for the building’s crown and mast, and what better time to launch the attraction than the opening of the XVIII Commonwealth Games. The lighting design played a central focus in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the games around Melbourne’s legendary Yarra River.

The Games were enjoyed by over 100,000 spectators, officials and performers, as well as millions of television viewers as pictures were broadcasted live around the world. The 2006 Commonwealth Games have also surpassed the 1956 Olympics to be the largest sporting event ever to be staged in Melbourne. The new look 120 Collins Street will remain a permanent feature and a focal point of Melbourne’s busy skyline for many years to come.

Energy efficient, Architectural Lighting Permanent Attraction - Laservision

The original brief was to upgrade the mast and crown of 120 Collins Street and the overall design was to be in keeping with the following objectives:

  • Little or no increase in electrical consumption
  • The design was to be energy efficient
  • The application of light was to be accurate so as to avoid spill and light trespass

Laservision provided 120 Collins Street with a complete ‘Turn Key’ solution which included feasibility and design, equipment recommendations, installation and overall project management. In all 220m meters of continuous LED strip sections were installed for the external illumination of the tower. The use of beam shaping and beam control devices ensured light spill beyond targeted areas did not occur internally. These design considerations ensured that the new lighting design dramatically reduced light trespass and ensured energy efficiency.

The final lighting effect portrays the iconic physical characteristics that are unmistakably 120 Collins Street. The programmed sequences reveal progressive changes in colour involving all of the lightings simultaneously. These progressive changes run in loops so that one set of characteristics can be allocated per evening.

The control of these dynamic sequences is achieved through Laservision’s Digital Data ~ Pump II (DDP II) technology. The DDP II is specifically designed to coordinate large scale multimedia productions incorporating a range of mediums including high powered lasers, architectural lighting, surround sound, fountains, water ~ screens, large digital projection, pyro ~ technics and large scale special ~ FX.

This is the same device that has been used to control the 33 buildings that currently participate in the Victoria Harbour Lighting Show in Hong Kong. DDP II is an ideal choice for 120 Collins Street as it allows lighting programmes to be stored and replayed via a human-friendly touch screen interface or automatically on a ‘ time of day basis ‘. The unit is connected via a secure broadband connection to the internet which allows full remote control.

Laservision is a world-renowned pioneer of creative, high impact solutions for the attractions, advertising and special events industries. Our creations are projected to targeted, large scale audiences, where the audience becomes an integral part of the experience. These creations include permanently installed entertainment for theme parks, tourist attractions, architectural lighting and other special venues. Laservision also caters for themed celebrations and presentations for both the private and corporate sectors.

Laservision’s world-renowned installations including Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Sydney’s Darling Harbour can be viewed from our portfolio page.

 
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