Fifteen of London’s iconic bridges are to be illuminated in a new “ground-breaking” project that will transform and invigorate the Thames riverfront. The Illuminated River Foundation and Signify have partnered together to provide connected LED lighting that will light up the historic landmarks via centrally managed software. More than 22,000 connected LED light points, capable of displaying over 16 million colours, will be used to create dynamic lighting effects in the city’s first holistic lighting strategy.
In the first phase of the project, London Bridge, Cannon Street Railway Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Millenium Bridge will all be connected with Philips Colour Kinetic luminaires by 2019, with Cannon Street Railway Bridge receiving lighting for the first time. Signify’s Interact Landmark system will remotely monitor and manage the lighting on all four bridges.
“We’ve lit bridges around the world and seen first-hand the positive impact that dynamic architectural lighting has on transforming local communities and economies,” said Maria-Letizia Mariani present of Europe, SVP, Signify.
“It’s wonderful to give the people of London stunningly-lit bridges with some lit up for the first time.”
At 2.5 miles in length - equivalent to 44 football pitches laid end-to-end along 4.5 nautical miles of the River Thames - it will represent the longest public art commission in the world once completed.
“London’s bridges are world-famous but had become overlooked in terms of their potential to transform our capital city at night,” commented Sarah Gaventa, director, Illuminated River Foundation.
“We are using dynamic, energy-efficient LED lighting for the first time on up to 15 London Bridges with Signify’s Interact Landmark system to create public art on the largest scale ever seen.”
The switch to energy efficient LED connected technology will also save an estimated 50-70 per cent of the annual electricity consumption for architectural lighting in comparison to conventional lighting.