Mondo*arc

ARCHITECTURAL
project
Pan Peninsula, London
48 MEDIA FACADE
ENGLAND
TECHNICAL INSIGHT : INSTA / SEMPERLUX
When Andrew Briggs of Ballymore walked onto the INSTA stand at The ARC Show 2006 he enquired about a project INSTA had recently completed featuring
vertical, seamless lines of light using a system based on the LEDLUX linear range. Little did INSTA know that this would lead to supplying well over 2000 metres of
addressable colour changing LED system.
The external facade concept has two basic ﬁtting types; vertical continuous ﬁttings on the main facades and vertical and horizontal ﬁttings to the tops of the towers,
known as the ‘Lantern top’, so named as the ﬁttings resemble lanterns providing strong lighting features that are very visible on the skyline and change colour in
sequences. “Very early on we wanted to stay away from primary colours as much as possible,” said Christian Wendel.
In the early negotiation stages Ballymore, the developer and project managers, were emphatic that whoever was awarded the contract must supply all the equipment
and controls and install it. INSTA formed a partnership with Semperlux GmbH, recognising them as leaders in exterior ﬁxtures, to design a suitable housing. They
also had the ability to offer a team from Germany who could work closely with the German Cladding company, Schneider, and a long standing relationship with tall
building contractors who were willing to install the equipment from window cleaning cradles.
One aspect Ballymore was particularly careful about was the lifetime of the LED system and the potential issues should any ﬁttings fail in a few years time. On a 50
storey building this was a major issue. As a result they wanted not only a ten year warranty package but proof that if any ﬁttings were damaged in the following years,
then the manufacturer must not only replace the ﬁttings but with ones with the same output. Semperlux presented an insurance indemnity package that met these
demands. ISO 9001 and long standing quality assurance compliance in electronics gave Ballymore the conﬁdence required on such a scheme.
It was also apparent from early design meetings that detail was everything to the architects, SOM. Integration into the facade was designed in at a very early stage;
the main vertical elements were to ﬁt into a concrete recess 100mm wide and no greater than 140mm deep. The interface between ﬁtting and the building was care-
fully planned. All ﬁxings were pre-cast. Tolerances of as little as plus or minus 1mm were stipulated! The vertical and horizontal lines of the lantern top were much
more complex; corners and junctions needed careful consideration to ensure they diffused correctly. Cabling was designed into the building as SOM would not allow
any visible trunking. Co-ordination with the cladding specialists, Schneider, enabled cable trunking to be completely built into the cladding structure. Constant ﬁne
tuning of such elements meant everything could be pre-installed including the wiring looms. Samples were tested on the shell of the building during construction to
satisfy SOM’s desire not to see any visual ‘breaks’ in the system.
Also, due to the fact that every proved difficult as scene setting
apartment has floor to ceiling could never be seen from all four
glass, it was essential the impact sides at the same time so three
on the apartments in the opposite dimensional imagination and
tower was carefully considered. software was required to allow for
During a long development pro- this rather special application.
cess Selux and INSTA combined Things got even more challenging
their expertise to produce the when Ballymore commissioned a
required custom fittings. Whilst special opening light show at the
Insta provided the IP rated LED end of November which was set
units, Selux took care of the hous- to happen on the 22nd January
ing that had to be coordinated to celebrate the completion of the
with Schneider, the cladding project.
company. Ballymore ensured With very limited time on their
that the several miles of power hands MBLD collaborated with
and control cabling found their Artistic Licence to create a show
way into the building and to the event that would run for five
central systems. minutes to orchestral music. All
An installation as huge as this had the invited guests, amongst them
a lot of issues to deal with. Sev- the speaker Lord Sebastian Coe,
eral units had to be reproduced enjoyed the spectacular archi-
due to the small tolerances. Rain tectural lighting from on top of a
and even snow did not always al- building terrace at the other side
low the high level cradle to abseil of the bay.
down the façades that resulted in After the successful opening night
Coloured inground tiles
delays. MBLD decided on far more subtle in the landscaping area
Programming of the facades also and static non-primary colours
are supplied by We-ef
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