Digital lighting management systems can connect hundreds of buildings in a city in spectacular light shows – and with it the inhabitants.
Flying into Daxing International Airport in Beijing is an amazing experience. From above, the new mega airport looks like a glittering six-armed starfish. This is architecture of the superlatives. And after landing, it continues to be amazing. Light floods through the central atrium, a huge curved hall constructed of steel and glass. Where natural light cannot penetrate, there are sophisticated lighting solutions from OSRAM’s subsidiary Traxon e:cue that highlight the remarkable architecture and create a feel-good atmosphere.
Reshaping the skylines
Breathtaking lighting installations inside and outside buildings are right on trend, especially in Asia. Not only individual buildings but entire skylines are turned into gigantic projection screens for synchronized LED light shows – the perfect backdrop for an evening stroll.
“Lighting is a highly important part of architectural and urban planning in China,” says Lawrence Chan, Head of Marketing at Traxon e:cue. “Lighting speaks to emotions through temporary illusions and the excitement of fleeting, moving images. It strengthens the sense of belonging, especially in large, anonymous cities with millions of inhabitants.”
Take, for example, the spectacular light show in Wuhan featuring a dragon that marches over the skylines along the two city’s rivers. Or the mega light show in Shenzhen, where more than 1.5 million luminaires spread over 43 buildings. Digitally connected and controlled by OSRAM’s SymphoCity central management platform. They also turn China’s second tallest building, the Ping An Finance Centre, and its surrounding buildings into a canvas showing a dynamic painting of the town’s history.
Manager for millions
For elaborate light shows to work perfectly, you need powerful technology and a lot of experience. And Traxon e:cue probably has more of that than anyone else. Spectacular façade lighting and major global projects are part of the DNA of this Hong Kong-based provider of future-oriented LED lighting solutions. It can point to decades of successful reference projects – from the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to the Gate to the East Skyscraper in Suzhou, China. Its particular strength is lighting control. Thanks to its digital SymphoCity platform, the world’s most powerful of its kind, Traxon e:cue can synchronously control millions of light sources – as many as 1,400 buildings, as in Xiamen, China.
The city at your fingertips
To produce shows of such magnitude without latency Traxon e:cue uses a combination of an optical fiber network and 4G. The new 5G standard is already whetting the appetite for even more ambitious projects: “We’ll soon be able to do even more,” says Chan. He has an answer to people who are critical of the energy consumption: “Thanks to our sophisticated SymphoCity control platform and LED technology, we use 60 to 80 percent less energy than with traditional technology.”
More importantly, the platform already offers much more than lighting control. It is a centralized management system for lighting and non-lighting parameters. The powerful technology behind these lighting projects often opens the door for applications that go beyond lighting. These include monitoring energy consumption and air pollution in cities – a subject of great significance, especially in China with its state-sponsored “Blue Sky Campaign.”
The control center of the SymphoCity project in Dali, China is reminiscent of the cockpit of a space shuttle but it’s not outer space they’re exploring here. Instead, they are digging into the city’s massive infrastructure network. The SymphoCity platform provides an overview screen to show all the functional systems, including energy consumption, illumination, power and even asset risk management – the entire city at your fingertips.
The sky is not the limit
“In this case, the sky’s not the limit. Our imagination goes far beyond that,” adds Chan. For Traxon e:cue, innovation means partnership above all else. It goes without saying, therefore, that its platform is open. “We are not reinventing the wheel every time. We are looking for solutions for our customers – and the right partner.” One thing unites all the projects: the desire to find a solution that makes a lasting impression.