Four London bridges shine as part of world’s longest public art commission

This is the first time there has been a holistic strategy to light up all of central London’s bridges. The aim is to create a multi-level visual experience for the bridges viewed by pedestrians on the bridges, from London’s riverbanks, from the air, from tall buildings and by boat. The project is led by the Illuminated River Foundation. It ran an international design competition for the lighting design which was won by the acclaimed, international artist, Leo Villareal and London architects, Liftschutz Davidson Sandilands. Signify was awarded the project because of its global breadth and expertise in lighting and ability to deliver such an important, large-scale, connected lighting project.

“What we are doing now, in partnership with Signify, to transform the bridges and riverfront, is groundbreaking. 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,” commented Sarah Gaventa, Director, The Illuminated River Foundation.

Artist Leo Villareal was delighted. “With Illuminated River, the largest artwork I’ve ever conceived, I’m hoping to follow in the footsteps of Monet, Turner and Whistler and reveal the truly unique, inspiring and poetic character of the Thames,” he said.

Signify’s Interact Landmark system will detect and manage faults and perform remote diagnostics and maintenance, improving asset management and thereby reducing costs. Under the contract, Signify is to illuminate up to 15 of London’s iconic bridges by 2022, and will provide lifecycle services to remotely monitor and manage the connected bridge lighting for the next 10 years, in which the artwork will be viewed over a billion times.

More than 22,000 connected Color Kinetics LED light points will be used to light up to 15 bridges with dynamic, artistic lighting effects via its centrally managed software – Interact Landmark. Color Kinetics LED lighting can create up to 16 million color schemes. Bridges include: London; Southwark; Cannon Street Railway; Millennium; Blackfriars Railway; Blackfriars; Waterloo; Golden Jubilee; Westminster; Lambeth; Vauxhall; Grosvenor; Chelsea; Albert and Tower. Every year there are 200 million crossings over the 15 London bridges.

Signify is committed to helping cities to develop eco-friendly business and tourist landmarks. An estimated 50-70% of the annual electricity consumption for architectural lighting is saved by moving to connected LED technology compared with conventional lighting. This project is expected to attract more people to enjoy the river and riverside. As with bridges and monuments Signify has lit around the world, this will have an enduring and positive impact on the local economy.

The Illuminated River:

The view of the four bridges being illuminated for the first phase of the Illuminated River Project supported by Signify. At 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) in length, equivalent to 44 football pitches laid end-to-end along 4.5 nautical miles of the River Thames, Illuminated River will be the longest public art commission in the world.

The London Bridge:

The London Bridge, illuminated using Signify’s Color Kinetics LED Luminaires, centrally managed using the Interact Landmark systems to provide dynamic, artistic lighting effects on this commuter favorite.

The Millennium Bridge:

Millennium Bridge is London’s first new pedestrian bridge for over a century and was envisioned as a “blade of light” across the Thames. In conjunction with Foster & Partners, the designer of Millennium Bridge, Signify has illuminated the bridge for the first time to showcase the blade of light across the river.

The Southwark Bridge:

The Southwark Bridge in London, one of the four bridges illuminated in the first phase of the Illuminated River project. Being connected, the lighting will be monitored remotely by Interact Landmark. The software will detect and manage faults and perform remote diagnostics and maintenance, improving asset management and thereby reducing costs.

The Cannon Street Railway Bridge:

The Cannon Street Railway Bridge which connects the City of London on the northern shore with south and south-east London by rail, is now illuminated by colorful and dynamic lighting from Signify’s Color Kinetics LED Luminaires. The iron bridge carries trains on the Southeastern line over the River Thames to Cannon Street Station.