Based on a concept designed by Wildstone and approved by Westminster City Council, Wildstone developed an eye-catching 'Box of Christmas Presents' to surround the statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus. Each side of the octagonal box features a 2.5m by 2.5m high definition LED screen promoting pre-Christmas marketing campaigns from a number of high-profile brand sponsors associated to West End retail.
ACSP were approached by Wildstone to tender for the supply of lighting fixtures used to light the 'Christmas Presents' boxes, which surround the figure around the top of the display.
Due to the harsh environment - which required the lighting to be on for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for seven weeks, and be subjected to low temperatures or wet weather - the solution needed to be extremely reliable and IP66-rated.
Taking these important factors into account, ACSP project manager, Lance Bromhead recommended using solutions from the Prolights ArchWork LED lighting range. After a demonstration of the lights, Wildstone were impressed by the ArcStrip fixture's light output - which had to be turned down to 50%, such was its high brightness.
ACSP supplied more than 75 Prolights ArchWork fixtures for the project. ArcStrip LEDs mounted inside the perimeter top of the octagonal display light the 'Christmas Presents' boxes, ArcPalm LEDs light the semi-transparent decorative ribbons from inside the boxes, and LumiPars light the statue.
In addition, ACSP specified an amBX system to provide the DMX light feed from a video source. The amBX system selects the dominant colours from the video content data feed and then assigns these to the lighting itself, allowing the 'Christmas Presents' to integrate with, and respond to, the colour scheme of the video screen content directly below.
Wildstone's operations director, Ben Goor, commented: "It was a pleasure to work with A.C. Special Projects, who came up with an effective lighting solution to meet our requirement. The inclusion of a dynamic and complimentary light solution was a high priority for us to maximise the production quality of this year's #PiccadillyPresents installation, creating a memorable festive display for one of London's most iconic landmarks and perfectly complementing our brand sponsors' content on the LED screens."
(Jim Evans)
