Designed to mark the Platinum Jubilee, Superbloom turns the moat around the Tower of London into a beautiful, colourful wild garden. Lighting from We-ef helps to showcase the vibrant flowers and bring the garden to life.

The moat surrounding the Tower of London has been adorned with millions of colourful wildflowers to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. The event – called Superbloom – is running for over three months throughout the summer, during the days and some evenings. At night, the colours of the flowers are richly enhanced and accentuated using tailored lighting.

German lighting manufacturers, We-ef, collaborated with Japan and Singapore-based lighting designers Nipek and Beam Lighting Design located in the UK, to provide a truly global solution.

Shigeki Fujii, Principal at Nipek, was very proud to work on such a special project: “The installation was designed to be interactive and inclusive, with a slide entrance into the moat and paths for people to walk through the wildflowers, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in nature.

“With flowers blooming at different times – and a desire for the attraction to be spectacular both day and night – we required lighting that could respond to changes in the natural colour environment. We-ef helped to specify a lighting solution that delivered exactly this.”

Sebastian Winnig, Head of Sales EMEA for We-ef, said he was thrilled to be involved in this high profile project: “Initially, We-ef explored using white projectors and colour filters. The challenge here was that installing more than 65 projectors on the perimeter walls would be very labour intensive. Not to mention having to change the colour filters to provide different lighting schemes at different stages of the installation.

“Instead, the final solution uses We-ef FLC 260 RGBW LED projectors whose colour can be changed via Bluetooth, giving the lighting designers great flexibility over the colour schemes.”

The projectors were integrated with DMX control drivers linked to Casambi modules, allowing the lights’ colours to be changed remotely.

Wireless lighting control also means there is no need for personnel to physically change colour filters whenever the display demands a new effect. The lighting designer can simply adjust the colours using the Casambi app, even when walking inside the moat, creating a striking effect.

To illuminate the moat sufficiently, spotlights were mounted on top of two walls surrounding it, strengthening the shooting distance of light. Careful installation was required to prevent any damage to the historical site.

Durability was another consideration, as there are plans to reuse the lighting once Superbloom comes to an end. We-ef’s unique 5CE system – with its long-lasting anti-corrosion properties – ensures the lighting remains vibrant and can be reused in other legacy events and locations within the Historic Royal Palaces beyond the duration of the exhibition.

Eva Koch-Schulte from Historic Royal Palaces praised the display: “This project has been a great success thanks to everyone involved. It’s such a pleasure to hear the positive visitor comments and to see people of all ages enjoy the experience of the flowers, day and night. The lighting brings out a magical quality in the flowers at night – they seem to glow from within.”

www.we-ef.com