LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/120967
Bay Lights Dazzle The public art installation on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge by Leo Villareal features 25,000 LEDs. The lights turned on March 5, 2013, and will be on for two years, presenting a changing array of patterns and lighting. The inspiration for the lighting is the bridge���s 75th anniversary. This image was taken during a test run. PhOTO: LucaS SaugEn hTTP://ThEBayLighTS.Org Now cometh the San Francisco Bay Bridge project, simply called ���The ���Bay Lights.��� The idea came from Ben Davis, founder of the Words Pictures Ideas creative agency in San Francisco, which has publicized the building of the Bay Bridge new eastern span. Mr. Davis, who knew of Mr. Villareal���s work in Silicon Valley, invited the artist to take on lighting the bridge���s western span. Villareal came up with the design, oversaw the installation and programed the light sequencing. Amy Critchett, executive director of Illuminate the Arts, a nonprofit that creates and presents community public art, is the executive producer of The Bay Lights. The LEDs on the bridge are not only eye-catching and just plain cool, but Ed Crawford, CEO of Philips Lighting North America, sees it in a different light���as a major shift for the lighting industry. Crawford believes it���s no longer just about ���practical��� lighting, i.e., illuminating what people need to see at night, but more and more about engaging people with lighting. And LEDs fit that thinking, as that technology and controllers allow LEDs to display myriad colors and patterns. The white LEDs (Philips Color Kinetics) on the bridge create complex algorithms and patterns. The Bay Lights organization believes the 1.8-mile long (think 26.4 football fields) by 500 ft. high lighting array is the world���s largest LED light sculpture. The energy-efficient LEDs are mounted in single strands on the bridge���s 300 vertical cables. The longest cable is 240 feet; the shortest is 2 feet. The LEDs are spaced one foot apart. There are 728 power and data boxes, and 100,000 feet of cable for power, fiber and Cat 5 wires. The LEDs use 150 to 175 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy during the nighty seven hours of operation. The energy cost per year is around $11,000, that���s $30 a day or $4.25 per hour. Dedicated solar panels installed in Davis, Calif. by CleanPath will offset all energy used by bridge LEDs. The Bay Lights organization aims to raise $8 million; it has thus far raised $6 million. Information Request # 543 88 Landscape Architect and Specifier News