H 5 1 9 9 7 No. 98 Jul/Aug 2015 CHINESE | GERMAN | I TURKISH

P R O F E S S I O N A L LIGHTING

Biophilic lighting

Magazine forthe PLD Community, official magazine of the Professional Lighting Design Convention

L I G H T I N G D E S I G N

Flower power Light Garden - a modern dynamic meadow of flowers.

Plaza Norte shopping centr( in L i m a / P E R

Text: Joachim Ritter Photos: Silvia Neyra, Claudia Paz, Nicholas Cheung

zlower power was a term and a movement that carne into being ¡n the late 1960s and early 1970s. Flowers were a symbol

ofpassive resistance and non-violence, and worn by the so-called hippie generation as a peaceful demonstration against

-riperialism, and in particular against the war in Vietnam. People tend to give flowers to friends for birthdays, weddings ar

even funerals, and some believe that different types of flowers have meanings. What power do flowers really have?

Can they really make us happier... ? The appeal ofthe flowers in the Plaza Norte shopping centre in Lima is at any rate

definitely infectious.

The Plaza Norte shopping malí in Lima has received an interactive light art installation based around flowers. A modern Light Carden in the middle of a shopping centre. The colourful installation appeals to children of all ages.

Flowers delight us, give us pleasure - and if they emit light or are made of light and can change colour and size or be programmed to move, they incite feelings of play-fulness and romance. The installation in Lima's largest shopping centre, Plaza Norte, features flowers big-time -in a Light Garden. Consistent with the corporate identity ofthe shopping centre: the logo of Plaza Norte is a sim-plistic but colourful flower.

Opened in 2009, Plaza Norte is twice as big as the Mega Plaza Norte shopping centre, located a few kilo-metres away. Plaza Norte comprises a huge supermarket, a big home centre, around 200 different shops selling recognized brands, restaurants, cinemas, a discotheque, a casino, a new bus terminal designed to cater for up to 100 bus companies, and an extensive car showroom. Going shopping here is all about enjoyment and consu-mer satisfaction.

But the shopping experience itself was to receive a further "real kick". To add a layer of fascination and exci-tement, and thus to enhance the users' experience, the owners commissioned designers Nicholas Cheung and Claudia Paz, whose work links art, technology and archi-tecture, using light to paint spaces and interaction to créate shared experiences. As designers Paz and Cheung are constantly searching for new technologies and means to be applied in their projects. The innovative design projects they develop combine the use of cutting-edge technology with the concern for energy efficiency. As a fundamental principie, they believe that the most ¡mportant part of lighting design lies in the way light and lighting effects trigger an emotional response in people of all ages.

The design brief fired their imagination and they set about aligning their enthusiasm for the project with the

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The concept ¡s based on the flower shapes and how they reflect ¡n the marble floor.

client's original intuition of wanting something special. Then the idea grew into a project. Taking the flower mo-tif design as a starting point, the design team developed an interactive landscape of light, sound and experience which they called the Light Garden.

On the basis ofthe motto "we're all kids at heart", the designers drew their inspiration from childhood stories by Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Hans Christian Anderson (fairy tales includingThe Emperor's New Clothes) and J . M. Barry (Peter Pan). The result was the decisión to créate an experience in a well populated public space that would transport users of Plaza Norte into a magical world, an attempt to erase the anonymity of the shoppers so they can open up to new sensations, just as the flowers open up when touched by light. And everyone can observe themselves and others to see whether it is working and whether they feel inspired to (re)discover emotions that remind them of early child­hood fantasies. As the designers put it: "We always view these projects from a child's perspective, one that is magical and naturally playful. Inevitably, this spontaneity is gradually buried as we progress through life into adult-hood. When we build these fantastic environments, we want to share that magic between generations where children spark that playful instinct in their parents, prompting them to join in and open up to their own inner child".

The exciting, ¡f not central, idea behind designed lighting is to make people happy. Maybe we do not always talk about it in those terms. We tend to describe our goal in a more objective or neutral way, usually

linked to a achieving a feeling of well-being, which we feel we deserve in our working spaces. The right to be happy at the workplace is perhaps taking it a little too far. Employees and staff are, after all, paid for what they do. And as far as health and safety regulations at the work­place are concerned, no-one has the legal right to be happy. But to be frank: happy people do tend to be more productive. So why can we not be absolutely clear when we talk about the real purpose of designed lighting -without being embarrassed about declaring it.

To return to the shopping centre in Lima, if we as hu­man beings decide to go shopping, then it should be a fun thingto do. Quite honestly, we do not actually need much of what we end up buyingat the shopping malí: perfume, a new smart phone once a year, trendy shoes or designer glasses are not Ítems we require to ensure our survival on this planet. And it is not much fun for kids when their mothers lose themselves in fashion dreams.

In a nutshell: it can help when an additional experi­ence factor - either for children, or for those who like to remain "kids at heart" - provides the Ímpetus for people to opt for a particular shopping centre. Whether this can be interpreted as manipulating shoppers to purchase more, or simply as part of the support measures to ren-der the overall experience more enjoyable - is not for me to decide. It depends on whether a society is structured in a way that allows this.

The Light Garden project itself is a playful combination of suspended flowers, projected floor petáis and surreal sounds. The installation comprises three layers of lighting effects in the space: thirty flower-shaped light

L I G H T I N G D E S I G N Plaza Norte shopping centre in Lima/PER

Data distribution.

Distribution network CCTV.

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sculptures in three different sizes are suspended from the ceiling in the main space, ten high-powered gobo projectors project large flower patterns onto the canopy ceiling, and a total of 150 individual blossoms and petáis are projected onto the plaza floor. Together with the reflections on the glass walls and marble floors these elements combine to créate a flowery kaleidoscopic landscape.

The flower-shaped light sculptures consist of five petal-shaped light boxes that contain RGBW LEDs which can be programmed to provide subtle shades of pastel light. Five bespoke LED gobo projectors are incorpora-ted into the centre of each flower and these project The lighting control system enables each of the flowers and petáis to be addressed anc white petáis onto the floor below. The gobo luminaires are interactive and individually controlled using a tracking camera which is also located inside the flower's core.

For children this is a natural environment, which is similar to their imaginary world. They intuitively explore the mysterious landscape and bring a sense of playful-ness to adults who are inspired to join in. The petáis tempt passers-by to engage with them and enjoy the experience by feeling free to walk, jump or dance. The complex interactive technology melts away, and inter­active games intertwined with light and acoustic shows make for a large-scale social experience.

The multichannel sound system drives ten speakers, which provide localised audio to accompany each moment of interaction. The sounds are also designed in

1 - Plaza Media Luna 2 - Concrete beam 3 - Steel cable 4 - Dry wall

Positioning of luminaires.

2 cables, coaxial ^ video camera 1 Video camera 2

3xUTP CAT 5E

CPU P 6 x cable, sheathed

E:CUE Pi Switch

Butler DMX controller 1

¿1 Switch 2

2-UTP C A T 5 E P P

Switch 3 P Cameras Butler

DMX controller 2

UPS 5

Universe 1 (1-UTP CAT 6A) Universe 2 (1-UTP CAT 6A)

< * Universe 1 (1-UTP CAT 6A)

V L P 1 C3~ VLP 2

V L P 3

VLP 4

V L P 5

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XLT-2000 P

- o Loudspeaker1 "** Loudspeaker 2

e> Loudspeaker 3 Loudspeaker 4

- o Loudspeaker 5 " l > Loudspeaker 6

- o Loudspeaker 7 "**• Loudspeaker 8

- o Loudspeaker 9 "**" Loudspeaker I I

O Subwoofer 1 Subwoofer 2

Control system.

Plaza Norte Flowers - Interactive / Lighting / Audio Control System Diagram 03 (2014.10.17)

Legend: 24V->12V DC: DVI (Monitor): HDMI (lighting): DMX: CAT6 cable: Audio: Coaxial RG59/CCS:

Red Light Brown Brown Green Orange Purple Light Blue

Picase note Missing from the diagram -(1) Power cabling, fusing. etc (2) Flower Fixtures

Lower Bulk-head Mounted Speakers & S u b w o o f e r (internally amplified)

IT Room Rack-mounted

Hardware

5 x V L P 600 Power amp 1 x XLT2000 Pre-amp

Spire Un« 1 í 2 - Ai*» CaWe

Multi-Channel Sound Card

Network Switch

Connected to internet

Spara i n 1 - ROSO .

Dell Interactive PC with Decklink Dúo

Capture Card

Keyboard & Mouse (USB)

On-board Flower: Set 2

AC/DC12VPSU IRC*m«*«l7

Upper Ceiling Gobos

R G B Gobos

AC Router

AC/DCI2VPSU IR-Cm«r» 31

Structure of the interactive lighting and sound control system.

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three layers: sounds from nature that ¡mmediately trans-port people to other worlds, and interactive sounds com-piled from notes played on a musical instrument, which compose a melody that ultimately mingles with the bass track to créate a unique composition.

Paz and Cheung defined six shows with different lighting and acoustic experiences. The games provide unique experiences using interactive programming, which ¡ntelligently responds to the number of people it senses inside the installation: =*> The Spinning Experience: this is an activity that child­ren do intuitively in order to experience an altered state of consciousness. The idea was to evoke that innocent curiosity of exploring different possible sensations by taking people of all ages to that place of excited enquiry where nothing is familiar. Petáis and flowers animate in circles and the interactive audio suggests a field of flowers where one is free to join them in spinning. =£> The Jumping Experience: imagine tiptoeing across a lily pond with the sound of ripples spreading across the surface. People can feel the sensation of floating or walking across water with lilies opening at a touch.

The Growing Carden: transforms the "actor" into a fairy flying from flower to flower, dropping pixel dust onto petáis and triggeringthe flowers to blossom. Each person is allocated their personal colour and collectively créate a garden of colourful flowers. Birds accompany the journey as the individual magical collages are painted. =*> The Path of Light: trails of light trace the path of people passing through the space. A flute composes a melody and the flowers on the floor float into the air creating a canopy of flowers. =*> The Shy Petáis: petáis disappear at the slightest touch, responding meditatively as they fade away ... and then mysteriously return behind the person who triggered their disappearance. =*> Petal confetti: is a mosaic of colourful petáis flying through the air. All the colours can be magically collected to créate a white flower, an experience where beautiful chaos is transformed into peaceful islands of tranquillity.

The control system behind the enchanting immersive experience consists of an interactive computer and a DMX lighting controller. These are closely integrated with the tracking cameras, providing live lighting control output to the flower sculptures and multichannel sounds to the audio system. Thirty cameras with interactive sen-sors enable the installation to respond with different le­véis of complexity, depending on the number of people present in the space.

Today, the virtual and physical worlds are merging and almost all áreas of our lives incorpórate smart and inter­active elements, many of which are pragmatic, logistical orsurveillance-based. Claudia Paz and Nick Cheung would like to see responsive environments embedded throughout the built environment - ones that allow peo­ple to re-experience the city as a social space, ¡ncluding public places with inspiring art installations that bring people together from all walks of life. Whether you are a shopaholic or just go along for the family outing, the flo­wer power you can experience at Plaza Norte for a day -or even an hour - can prove just how young at heart you still are, and how open you are to sharing public space.

The projections ofthe petáis on the floor are clear and sharply contoured.

Project team: Client: Corporación EW Concept and art direction: Nicholas Cheung and Claudia Paz Design: Claudia Paz, Nicholas Cheung, Cesar Castro Production: Arquileds

Interactive programming: Chris Plant/ Colour Burst Sound design: Neil Spragg/ Future Sound Design DMX programmer: Ruby Rubenstahl Light Contení: Cesar Castro Paz Contractor and installer: MAS Contratistas Generales

Products applied: Lighting equipment: Astera LED DMX control: exue / Osram

L I G H T I N G D E S I G N Plaza Norte shopping centre in Lima/PER

Flower shape made of aluminium, diameter 1.5 m.

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Detail section of a flower fixture. Exploded drawing of a flower fixture.

Legend 1 - Reference circle 2 - Conical cylinder onto which luminaires and accessories a

mounted 3 - Centre of flower made of aluminium onto which luminair

accessories are mounted 4 - Cover on petal, fixed 5 - Fixing point for pendant mounting 6 - Petáis mounted at different heights around the centre of

flower 7 - Polycarbonate, frosted 8 - Housing made of aluminium 9 - Fixed cover on petal, aluminium 10 - Fixing point for pendant mounting (gland gasket) 11 - Conical cylinder onto which luminaires and accessories

mounted 12 - Petáis mounted at different heights (15 mm to 30 mm

difference) around the centre of the flower 13 - Polycarbonate, frosted 14 - Conical cylinder onto which luminaires and accessories

mounted