International. ÅF Lighting once again contributes to creating the atmosphere of Culture Night in Copenhagen, through 11 different installations. The powerful effects of 134 SGM luminaires dominated the various spaces and helped create an impressive glow over the city.
The night festival "Culture Night" illuminates the streets of Copenhagen every year. In this edition, attendees were able to enjoy more versatile shows than ever. ÅF Lighting lighting designer Jasmine Van Der Pol explains the visual concept of Culture Night 2015:
"This year has been exceptional. We have had many different places and also many clients to work for. Each site has had its own visual identity. The Botanical Garden revolved around magic and poetry through light and sound. The lighting we used for El Jardín del Rey functioned as a guided tour through the park, while a storyteller revealed all that hedonistic past of the royal family full of secrets, romances, temptations and desires. The installation at the DAC [Danish Architecture Center] was based on the idea of "building with light". It was an interactive project in which the public could build their own light scenes on the façade. For Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand [an artistic association] we created a living room atmosphere through projections inspired by chandeliers. Each project has been different in this edition."
Suppliers FilmGEAR and Vigsø Light and Show Design supplied the 134 SGM luminaires, including G-Spot moving heads, P-5 washes, Q-7 flood blind strobe units, SixPack blinders, LT-100 LED tubes and also Palco 3 and Palco 5 projectors.
IP65 certification, LED light and high light intensity
"We chose SGM products for their live performance. They are powerful, mount good optics and are easy to use. We especially like the P-5 line. They are such intense devices that you can use them with the largest structures, the facades, the tallest trees, etc. The G-Spot are fantastic too. It's a very powerful image projector," says Jasmine.
The ÅF Lighting team placed special emphasis on the positioning of luminaires throughout the city. "The location of the devices is always very limited during the festival, but above all we wanted to ensure the comfort of visitors when visiting the spaces. To achieve this we had to position the luminaires in such a way that they did not bother people with direct impacts. What you want is for people to see the effect, not the luminaries," says Jasmine.
Apart from the power and compact chassis, two other factors were especially important to opt for SGM equipment during decision-making: its LED source and its IP65 certification. "We wanted to use colors at the event and we wanted to have dynamic control over them. That's why we chose to use LED technology. IP65 certification was also a prerequisite for all installations except the roof installation at Nørreport Station. However, the P-5 with its 43º lens was so effective that we decided to install them there as well," he says.
The Palm Greenhouse in the Botanical Garden was a particularly important challenge for ÅF Lighting because of its large size and the fact that the light had to be synchronized with the audio. For this task we had the assistance of FilmGEAR and also with the students of Sonic Collegue. "The Palm Greenhouse is very large, and we needed it to look good during the afternoon. We needed a lot of light, but also just the right proportion to show the volumes as well as special nuances capable of creating a visual interest." For this installation the P-5 washes were fundamental thanks to their intensity of 23,500 lumen in only 8.9 Kg of weight, as well as the combination with the LT-100 tubes that helped to recreate the shape of the fireflies and different rain effects. "Both products created wonderful poetic scenes," Jasmine concludes.
After using SGM lights for the Night of Culture, as well as for many other projects, Jasmine Van Der Pol has demonstrated her ability to visualize new applications in this type of luminaire. Before moving on to his next project, he enjoyed analyzing the success of this event in which the night of Copenhagen was bathed with a cheerful and exclusive atmosphere.
