In the heart of the Swedish city of Gothenburg lies Gårda, an ever-evolving district that was once the site of a vibrant industrial scene. One of the most notable and iconic buildings within the area is the 27-storey Kineum; a picture of modern architecture with a stunning façade of glass and metal. Offering both a hotel and office space, Kineum was completed in 2022 through a collaborative development project between Platzer and NCC.
Light Bureau was appointed to deliver the lighting design, which required elegant illumination of the 100m tall building’s façade. Graze lighting needed to be used, and the effect had to be executed without producing light pollution. To achieve this, custom engineering was required, with lighting control playing a key role in the design of the scheme. Pharos Architectural Controls, a dynamic lighting control specialist, was brought in to fulfil the project’s lighting control requirements with their award-winning LPC.
The Pharos Designer LPC 1 (Lighting Playback Controller 1) is an all-in-one controller designed for 24/7 operation. Offering unrivalled reliability for LED installations, the LPC features individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes. Kineum is a glorious example of the effective and striking results possible using just white light. The LPC delivers white and grey-scale dynamic lighting effects to the façade, enabling the Lumenpulse Lumenbeam fixtures to be animated in a way that creates a subtle, visual effect on the metal gridwork, reminiscent of a surface that is twisting and waving.
The lighting control solution from Pharos also enables the lighting effects to be controlled in response to the ambient light. The luminaires can be dimmed down on cloudy or foggy days to ensure that Kineum’s façade lighting does not contribute to the light pollution in the city.
The lighting design was created through a partnership between Light Bureau; lighting solutions provider, Stockholm Lighting; and manufacturer, Lumenpulse. The partnership created a custom optic that combined micro-snoots and light-shaping films. Photons that would have gone into the sky have been refocused onto the façade, resulting in a stunning yet delicate effect that uses light responsibly and efficiently.
Mark de Gruyter, Regional Manager for EMEA at Pharos Architectural Controls, said: “Gothenburg is a fascinating city with a wonderful history, and it is encouraging to see such innovative redevelopment taking place. Kineum is a particularly stunning building, and the illumination of the façade has undoubtedly enhanced this. The utilisation of the Pharos Designer LPC 1 to deliver not only outstanding lighting effects but also contribute towards the elimination of light pollution shows the power of our market-leading control solutions.”
James Anderson, Sales Manager at Stockholm Lighting Company, added: “Kineum was a challenging brief to deliver, but a strong collaboration effort across all project partners led the project to great success. The specified technologies, including the Pharos Designer LPC 1, have enabled a subtle and elegant lighting design while adhering to the strict environmental requirements of the project.”
The lighting beautifully showcases the intricate design of Kineum’s façade, making it stand out against the Gothenburg skyline.
Project Credits:
Lighting designer: Afonso Almeida, Kristofer Karlsson – Light Bureau
Lighting solutions partner: Stockholm Lighting
Lighting manufacturer: Lumenpulse
Photographer: Ulf Celander
