LONDON 2012 LIGHTING CASE STUDY
Lighting a path
No one can doubt the elegance of the velodrome, yet, the 6,000-seat arena proved difficult to light
Velodrome No one can doubt the elegance of Hopkins Architect’s velodrome, yet, the 6,000-seat arena, nicknamed the Pringle due to its curves, proved difficult to light. With a roof some 10 metres lower than any other velodrome and, at points, the track and roof almost at touching distance, space for lighting was at a premium. The cable-net roof was designed before loadings of the lighting were known. Floodlights were attached to a suspended containment from the roof, but there wasn’t sufficient height or load capacity to use a walkway, so floodlights were set to correct angles before being hoisted into the air. A total of 356 1 kW floodlights are used
to achieve 2,000 lux vertical. ‘When taking readings we used a special ladder to reach points of steep banking’ said Simpson. The design had to provide for eight switching steps (2,000 lux, 1,000 lux, 2x 750 lux and 4x 300 lux). The multiple steps at lower levels in legacy mode were to extend lamp life, so no floodlight could appear in more than one switch mode. With the action in the velodrome much
faster than in the stadium, balancing the phases was never going to be acceptable to the broadcasters in terms of flicker. ‘We’ve developed some electronic control
gear to run these lamps, which produces a square wave so that you don’t get the phasing issue,’ said Simpson. ‘Broadcasters said they have never been able to capture this quality of slow motion before.’ Broadcasters can take shots at 500 frames/s from anywhere, even with Chris Hoy hurtling by at 70 km/h.
Park life
The lighting for pedestrians and amenities around the Olympic Park may not be as glamorous as that for the stadium, velodrome and Aquatics Centre, but it has been playing a crucial role in helping the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) meet it sustainability and carbon targets.
The ODA initially committed that, across the site as a whole, sufficient on-site renewable energy generation capacity would be installed to meet at least 20% of the annual carbon emissions, both of the venues, and other buildings to be retained within the site in the legacy phase. The ODA also aspires to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions for the built environment of 50% by 2013. ‘The landscape and public realm lighting plays a central part in achieving the 50% reduction in carbon,’ explained Ian Guest, group director of Buro Happold, part of the consortium that provided strategic engineering advice and design on the masterplanning of the London Olympic Park.
Lighting designer Sutton Vane Associates devised the special circular-formed ‘halo’ lights supplied by Philips Lighting. ‘They were designed to provide an iconic landmark along the main southern concourse, add to the festival atmosphere in Games and legacy, and, promote the message of sustainability,’ said Michael Grubb, director, Sutton Vane Associates. The seven halos are set on 32 metre-high columns that incorporate micro wind turbines. ‘The turbines need a wind speed of 3m/s to start running, but we anticipate an average of 5 m/s throughout the year,’ said Ian Guest. ‘The
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electricity generated will offset around 40% of the lighting energy consumption, saving some 23.9 tonnes of carbon per year.’ Away from the main concourse, lighting columns were devised to incorporate photovoltaic (PV) panels. There are currently 80 on site, which will expand to 107 in legacy mode. The PV panels will offset some 60% of the energy required by the LED units, mitigating some 3.5 tonnes of carbon per year. ‘That might seem quite a low figure, but they are an important contributor,’ said Ian Guest. ‘If you could reduce energy consumption by 60%, from a lighting perspective in buildings and externally, that would go a long way to meeting the UK’s targets for 2020 and 2050.’ This is supplemented by around 3,500 m2
of
PV panels – both on the press centre and legacy car parking – that will offset approximately 40% of all the park-wide lighting electrical load and save some 193 tonnes of carbon each year. There’s more to sustainability than energy, of course. The waterways around the Olympic Park are vital feeding areas for bats and this proved to be an important consideration for the lighting. ‘Protecting and increasing biodiversity in the wildlife areas and waterways of the parklands was a priority from the start of the design; this led to the specification of LED lighting units to minimise disturbance along identified bat corridors,’ explained Grubb. ‘LED lighting does not emit ultraviolet light, which disturbs the moths that bats feed on. The lighting strategy identified ‘dark zones’ within the Parklands that are free from artificial light.’
September 2012 CIBSE Journal 27
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