Anolis on top in Sandton
- Details
Recently the building’s owners and operators Liberty Properties approached DWR’s architectural lighting and installations division and asked if they would propose a lighting scheme for its distinctive 40 x 40m pyramid shaped ‘cap’, which tops the 110m metre high, 22-storey skyscraper providing commercial office space.
The client’s brief was simply for “colour changing” lights, so DWR’s Johnny Scholtz suggested several options for their consideration and the chosen scheme involves 84 Anolis LED fixtures.
These are divided into 60 ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 RGBs with 31° lenses, utilised for the side panels and base of the cap, and 24 x Divine 160 RGBWs, sixteen fitted with 41° lenses plus eight with 24° lenses to precisely fill the cap spire with beautiful, rich and colour changing luminescence.
The building was first opened in 1973 and dominated Sandton’s skyline for four decades. However recent new waves of construction and investment have resulted in a flurry of new tall buildings, propelling the owners to engage in a spectacular revamp that started in 2014. This has seen the replacement of all the external cladding around the concrete structure in a spectacular upgrade to keep it relevant and fluid amidst an ever-changing cityscape.
Johnny looked at all the options for replacing the aging old white LED installation already on the cap - in which they had not been involved - and put together the Anolis package.
“I needed something that would - firstly - offer excellent colours, as that was their main stipulation - then it had to look fantastic, be reliable, durable and cost effective. Anolis ticked all the boxes” he explains.
The ArcLine fixtures are located on and around the existing roof sections forming the base of the steel structure which is supporting the cap’s metal flats.
The lights are all controlled by a Virtual Productions QuadCore PC running their proprietary Kiosk software.
Three years ago, DWR also installed a substantial Anolis lighting system illuminating the roof of the new Protea Court shopping centre just across the road in Sandton, and in the last year they have completed a lighting scheme also using Anolis for the new twisting skyscraper at Waterfall City, Midrand which is now the HQ of PwC.
(Jim Evans)
