Philips Dynalite helps building achieve Lighting Design Award

Lighting control and automation group, Philips Dynalite, has teamed up with lighting designer Kevan Shaw to provide the new Public Arts Centre (The Public) in West Bromwich, UK, with a state-of-the-art integrated lighting control solution. The project was awarded Best Public Building in the Lighting Design Awards 2009.

The Philips Dynalite lighting control system helped to illuminate The Public’s exhibits, interactive displays and administration areas with a mix of practical and dynamic coloured lighting.

The Public boasts cutting-edge design, matched with flamboyant colour schemes throughout the facility’s numerous themed areas, recording studios and offices. Similarly, The Public’s lighting installation provides a feast for the senses. Form and function mingle, as a seemingly endless variety of dynamic lighting scenes and interactive multimedia encounters provide an engaging experience for visitors.

“Bringing together multiple lighting design elements and having them work as intended - all on a restricted budget - can be challenging,” said Shaw. “In order to achieve the desired effects, we incorporated some of the simplest luminaire solutions possible and leveraged the functionality of the lighting control system to make the lights dynamic - that’s where Philips Dynalite came into the picture.”

The lighting control system comprises ballast controllers, leading-edge dimmers and switches, all linked via DyNet serial bus network and managed via a centralised Philips Dynalite touch-panel operator interface. A separate DMX512 communications loop with connectivity to the touch panel accommodates the dynamic lighting applications.

One of the standout features was an illuminated internal walkway that featured simple fluorescent lighting fixtures that had been programmed to emulate the movement of people down the ramp.

“I had a very strong idea of wanting to represent the flow of people on the ramp,” Shaw explained. “Making it work was down to the programming as much as anything else. The Philips Dynalite system was capable of creating the advanced lighting control sequences, as well as providing the reliability required for continuous operation.”