This was the second year that Marcus has designed a lighting scheme for Bath Abbey, which was founded in 1499 and is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the U.K.’s West Country. His client was Bath Tourism & Leisure.
Marcus needed a selection of light fixtures that would be reliable, flexible and bright, rigged over four levels of the Abbey. With ample quantities of both Robe and Anolis units in Enlightened’s rental stock, and having used the gear for prior applications, Marcus was confident they would be well-suited to this application as well. He also included six recently-purchased Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes in the project.
The creative challenges included striving for something different from a “standard” building lighting design, something that would engage and impress the huge numbers of people who flock into town for the Music Festival opening night.
“It’s rare to have the opportunity to illuminate such beautiful architecture with no other purpose than to produce a sense of wonder,” Marcus said. “Accentuating the symmetry, understanding and working to enhance the structure, while aiming for the WOW factor was the most challenging and fun part.”
Around the base, washing up the walls on the north and east elevations, Marcus used Robe moving lights – a combination of ColorSpot 1200, 700 and 575E ATs. These were chosen to bring a touch of party atmosphere to the occasion, and used in a series of complementary primary colors.
The Robin 600 LEDWash fixtures were positioned at the corners and bathed large areas in shades of color. “The new Robin 600 LEDWash heads are very nice bits of kit,” Marcus added, “extremely bright and very versatile, particularly for lighting at a very steep angle.” All of the moving light fixtures were encased in Robe IP43 LightDome enclosures from Enlightened’s rental stock.
Marcus also arranged for a total of 118 Anolis and other LED fixtures to be rigged further up on the four roof areas of the Abbey and along the narrow passageways snaking around the roof. Their light weight and portability proved well-suited to this task — the locations could only be reached via a series of tiny, winding passages and staircases that allowed access.
All the lights positioned above ground level were LED, chosen for the practicalities of rigging, power consumption and versatility.
The windows’ apertures were precisely lit with Anolis ArcLine 36 Optic strips on the sills at the bottom. Two fixtures per window was more than enough to highlight the intricate detail and relief work.
To contrast the building stonework against these finer elements, the flying buttresses down the north and south sides of the Abbey were lit by a series of LED units including Anolis ArcPad 48s, which were “ensconced into the smallest, tightest nooks and crannies.”
The smooth, even wash created for the upper tower helped it serve as a visible from various vantage points in the Bath area.
All the Abbey architectural lighting was powered from hard power within the church, and the control FOH position was in a doorwell on the east face – which made programming challenging, as there was no way to view the installation from the desk position. Operator Rob Taylor used a Chamsys MagicQ 120 Pro desk for control.
Orange Grove, which includes a circular lawn with an obelisk in the centre and a row of beamed buildings, is adjacent to the east facia of the Abbey. A row of Anolis ArcLine Optic 18, 24 and 36 strips located on top of the roof overhang at first floor level provided illumination. The obelisk and surrounding trees were lit with Anolis ArcLine Outdoor Optic and 12 RGB battery uplights.
Pulteney Bridge, located less than a kilometre away, was bathed in color and watery animations from more Robe ColorWash 1200E AT and ColorSpot 700E AT fixtures, stationed in between a row of colonnades. The waters rushing over the 3-tiered ovular weir below were also illuminated with the Robes, and the row columns were uplit with 64 Anolis ArcSource 6 RGB LED units. Rob Sayer looked after these lights with an Avolites Pearl Expert for control.
To complete the opening night installation, Marcus also lit the Guildhall building on the High Street, just around the corner from the Abbey, again using LEDs including Anolis ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 RGBA strips uplighting the columns front of the portico, which were combined with magenta MBI floods concealed in the light wells below street level.
Marcus worked with a crew of 16 crew on the load-in and concluded, “It was an amazing project. Giving the opportunity to turn off the conventional and rather two dimensional blasts of sodium, and showcase what controllable LED technology can really do in bringing a structure to life. Using Robe and Anolis gave me the creative tools and flexibility I needed to produce something very distinctive.”
He adds that architectural lighting is a key building block in creating an atmosphere which can influence people’s decisions to leave or linger in space.
“Light is a medium that can produce an emotional response; illuminating beautiful architecture and accentuating a sense of elegance and form can produce a feeling of wonder and excitement, and I believe that for a short time Bath at night became a very special and unique place.”
The lighting scheme deemed successful enough for David Lawrence, divisional director of Bath Tourism, Leisure & Culture, to ask that installation – initially only scheduled to run for the one night – could remain in place for another three days throughout the U.K.’s Bank Holiday Weekend.
For more information, please visit www.robe.cz and www.anolis.eu.
