BRAS BASAH, Singapore — Taking inspiration from a swarm of butterflies
in mid-flight, a group of students from Singapore University of Technology and Design
(SUTD) developed the unique ‘Flights of Fancy’ display for the 2014 Singapore
Night Festival. The installation, which was the culmination of the University’s
10-week Urban Lighting course, used the Singapore National Design Centre’s
expansive space to bring a true on-of-a-kind experience to life with help from
HARMAN’s Martin Professional Exterior 400 LED lighting fixtures.
Throughout the University’s Urban Lighting course, students learned
about the effects of both natural and artificial light on space as well as
fundamental design concepts. The students then had the opportunity to develop
an installation for the Singapore Night Festival as part of their final course
project and according to the SUTD student team leader, Kenickie Cher Jia Jun,
Martin Professional fixtures were crucial in bringing the team’s vision for
’Flights of Fancy’ to life.
Created by the careful positioning of lights and shadows, ‘Flights of
Fancy’ offered unique effects depending on the time of day to ensure no experience
was the same—not even for two people standing beside each other. The display
featured a large floating sculpture made of hanging dichroic films, a
reflective material the team used to mimic butterflies ascending into the sky. To
do this the SUTD student team needed a large, tall space with white walls and
used eight Marin Exterior 400s, a MAC 700 Profile, and a MAC 250 Krypton to
produce a powerful light for reflections.
“One of the things we liked about the Martin fixtures was our ability to
program a dynamic design,” said Kenickie. “The installation became
ever-changing, and that made the experience unique for each visitor. The strong
light source amplified the colors of the reflections and refractions created by
the dichroic film, creating the full effect that our team had envisioned from
the beginning.”
The Martin fixtures were concealed in two floor boxes below the floating
sculpture and programmed to gradually change intensity and direction. Each box
contained four Exterior 400 fixtures that provided color washes that were
slowly dimmed and then brighten constantly over time. “The Martin fixtures were
extremely powerful and effective,” said Lighting Designer Shigeki Fujii, the
students’ course instructor. “The dimming and movement of the lighting fixtures
truly amplified the colors and the effects of the display. Most observers did
not even notice the lights were changing intensity and direction, they thought
the effect was simply due to the wind.”
The SUTD team also programmed Martin’s MAC 700 Profile and MAC 250
Krypton moving head fixtures slowly move across the sculpture. Additionally, the
lightweight of the dichroic films and the subtle movement of air throughout the
space paired with the lighting effects helped animate the color reflections
into a sea of shimmering lights.
“Space, material and light source were the three most important components
of the design,” said Fujii. “The space had to be white because it need to
receive reflected light as a canvas and we also wanted daylight in the space to
allow for dramatic effect changes from day to night. The light source had to be
powerful and sharp to create crisp reflections on the space as well as
programmable to allow us to amplify the dynamic effects.”
According to Fujii, the fixtures were instrumental in helping the
student team develop one of the most powerful pieces in the festival, “the
students would not have been able to complete their final project without the support
of Martin’s team and the outstanding quality of their products!”
For more information, please visit: www.martin.com
As a world leader in the creation of dynamic lighting solutions for the
entertainment, architectural, and commercial sectors, Martin lighting and video
systems are renowned the world over. Martin also offers a range of advanced
lighting controllers and media servers, as well as a complete line of smoke
machines as a complement to intelligent lighting. Martin operates the
industry’s most complete and capable distributor network with local partners in
nearly 100 countries. Founded in 1987 and based in Aarhus, Denmark, Martin is
the lighting division of global infotainment and audio company HARMAN
International Industries. For more information please visit: http://www.martin.com.
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