The world is full of architectural treasures that stand as a testament to our history, culture, and ability to create beautiful structures. The historical buildings and stately homes built generations ago, with their intricate designs and rich heritage, are simply awe-inspiring.
In the bright, natural light of day, these buildings are impressive enough, but with the right architectural lighting techniques, and use of sophisticated lighting technology, these iconic landmarks can be brought to life in the dark. Uplighting, especially, after the sun has gone down, can really work its magic on these historical buildings.
At CORE Lighting, we’ve utilised our unique battery powered lighting technology and products to enhance the beauty and significance of a number of iconic landmarks around the world for special occasions, events, conferences, and more.
The transformative effect of uplighting
One of the main, and arguably most effective, ways to transform historical architecture into magical and awe-inspiring night time spectacles is with our uplighting solutions. By strategically placing light fixtures, such as our ColourPoint and ColourPoint Mini, at the base of a structure, its facade, details, and features can be illuminated from below, providing a full spectrum of colour for an entire face of a building. These techniques can create a captivating play of shadows and highlights, bringing out the unique architectural elements that might otherwise go unnoticed after dark or they can bring buildings to life and make them stand out in stark contrast to their surroundings. By employing uplighting, historical buildings and stately homes can be reimagined as glowing works of art, showcasing their distinct features in a new light.
Case Studies
Over the years, we have been delighted to provide suitable lighting solutions for a number of iconic buildings and world-renowned structures. Here are some examples of our work:
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London was first conceived by Francis Fowke, the architect behind the design of the Royal Albert Hall and some of the Victoria and Albert Museum, who sadly died prior to finalising the design of the museum. The building’s final design was completed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse. Constructed of terracotta, it became known as a ‘cathedral to nature’ and is revered as one of the most awe-inspiring examples of Romanesque architecture in Britain and one of the most famous of London’s iconic landmarks.
CORE Lighting was tasked with providing uplighting using our ColourPoint and ColourPoint Mini lamps to help create a sensational atmosphere. ColourPoints were placed at the base of the magnificent arches within Hintze Hall, both on the inside edges and at the base of the columns on the hall side, bathing the hall and its exquisite stonework in a beautiful colour wash of red, purple, and blue hues. Further lamps were placed on the balcony tier to bathe the ceiling and upper levels in the same colour wash, providing blanket coverage for the entire hall. Lights were also focused on the immensely impressive blue whale skeleton that is suspended above Hintze Hall, practically bringing it to life, once again, and making sure it was a key atmospheric focal point for the event.
Further atmospheric lighting was provided for Earth Hall, bathing the constellation covered walls in a cosmic blue light and helping the colossal metallic globe stand out in stark contrast with its red glow.
British Museum
The imposing entrance to the British Museum, with its massive colonnade portico, and its awe-inspiring 44 towering columns of Greek Ionic architecture, was bathed in purple light using uplighting from our Colourpoint lights, creating an impressive spectacle of light, colour, and shadow.
The porticos within the Great Court, with their immense columns flanking the lofty doors at each entrance in the court, were also washed in purple lighting. This was made all the more impressive and attention-grabbing by the fact that they were surrounded by shadow to either side and above, making them stand out in stark contrast.
The Tower Of London
The Tower of London is one of Britain’s most iconic buildings. Dating back to the time of William the Conqueror and home to the Crown Jewels, the instantly recognisable ‘Beefeaters’, and the Tower’s legendary Ravens, the Tower of London is steeped in history and lore.
To provide battery powered wireless lighting for such a historic and renowned location is an honour and a fantastic opportunity to showcase how CORE’s range of lighting solutions can make what is already such an atmospheric environment even more evocative.
The wooden stairs of the White Tower was underlit with red floodlighting, giving an eerie red glow to the staircase, while opposite, the New Armouries Cafe was lit in similar wash of red.
ColourPoint lamps were placed at intervals around the interior of the Tower itself, allowing the natural brickwork to cast shadows, breaking up the wash of red uplighting and adding to the ambience set throughout the Tower grounds.
The main exterior of the Tower was completely washed in both red and purple using CORE ColourPoint uplighters making an already spectacular building even more imposing.
Cheltenham Town Hall
A little closer to CORE Lighting HQ, Cheltenham Town Hall was impressively lit using a sequence of ColourPoints in a range of complementary colours, to produce a spectacular, ornate, and elegant lighting scheme for an exclusive dining experience.
Chrysler Museum, Virginia, USA
Across the pond, the Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia, USA, was more subtly lit.
Using ColourPoints to provide soft uplighting around the edges of the magnificent Huber Court atrium, and PinPoint magnetic spotlights to precisely illuminate table centrepieces and other features, including the wedding cake, an elegant and modern ambience was achieved for an exclusive wedding at the venue.
With soft backlighting of the flowered wall set inside the grandiose renaissance arch, framed by a classical serpentine staircase, and precision focus spot lighting, the wedding cake practically glowed, making an exquisite centrepiece and focal point for the wedding.
The National Theatre
Uplighting and pinpoint accurate spotlighting isn’t always required to make a lasting impression, create atmosphere, and bring a venue to life. Sometimes, a single installation or focal point that draws the eye and delights can be just as impressive and effective.
Take this colourful installation at the National Theatre for example.
Wireless LED TablePoint lamps were used to illuminate translucent orbs outside the National Theatre’s main entrance in London’s South Bank after dark. The lights were wirelessly controlled and programmed using bluetooth, and set to progressively change colour on a predetermined schedule, creating a remarkable piece of ‘theatre of light’ outside the theatre itself.
Rococo Garden
Rococo Garden in Painswick, Gloucestershire is another fantastic example of how a simple colour wash using uplighting provided by our ColourPoint lamps can have a transformative effect on a location and the atmosphere.
With a single colour change, the mood and ambience around the beautiful, curved Exedra metamorphosizes, transforming the scene entirely with each individual hue and almost giving life and an alternative temperament to the location for each colour.
With the right lighting solution and an effective lighting design, any historical or architecturally interesting building can be further enhanced, brought to life, or even completely transformed. These are just a few examples of some impressive buildings and locations that our lights have helped illuminate to great effect using a variety of lighting techniques.
If you have an event coming up or a wonderful example of architecture that you’d like to give life to, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss the best lighting solutions for your circumstances.