The judges for the Lighting Design Awards, organized by Lighting Equipment News magazine and the Institution of Lighting Engineers, noted that the lighting design within the Daniel Libeskind-designed building "had to transmit the necessary atmosphere - abstract light slashes punctuate the ceiling, while large objects such as armoured vehicles and a Harrier Jump Jet are modelled using theatrical projectors."
The winning design made extensive use of DHA Lighting gobos, both custom designs and stock gobos from the company’s standard range. "Gobos can have a magical effect," notes DHA Design’s Adam Grater, "and for the sections in the Imperial War Museum where we were trying to create a ‘dingy’ feel for wartime bunkers, linear break-up patterns from DHA Lighting’s stock range proved ideal." The stock gobos are projected from standard, tungsten ETC Source Four lanterns, since the lighting rig is dimmed to allow for projection and AV sequences. DHA Design Services also made use of DHA Lighting’s custom glass gobo service, using the high-definition monochrome glass gobos to project the plans for a German U-boat onto the exhibition floor.
This is not DHA Design’s first success at the Lighting Design Awards: in 2002 DHA Design Services and Speirs and Major were joint winners in the Retail and Leisure category for their work on Magna, the Science Adventure Centre in Yorkshire.
(Ruth Rossington)
