10 November 2006

Historic Metropolitan Meat Market, Melbourne

Historic Metropolitan Meat Market, Melbourne upgraded with brilliant light


82% energy reduced

Many such installations still use old-style mercury-vapour lights. Often called “watchman light”, they are fine if all you need is “some sort of brightness” and you do not care about energy consumption. However, their colour-rendering of Ra=60 is fairly poor and their efficacy is only 55-60 lumens/watt at the best of times. As these lights age, they provide less than 60% of their initial output !
With their bulbous shape and ugly control gear boxes, they are an eyesore and spread their light without much aiming. They also contain large amounts of mercury, a toxic heavy metal. The objective here was to get better light quality, AND better looks AND a reduced electricity bill for Melbourne City Council.

High time for a better solution : the old mercury-vapour lights and their gearboxes were an eyesore, consumed a lot of energy and produced poor lighting.

Products used :
* R1MiniS compact projectors
* total consumption reduced by >82%

Equipped with G12-based ceramic metal-halide lamps (efficacy ~100lm/watt), these extremely compact fittings produce excellent light with a 1A colour-rendering of Ra>90 at low electricity consumption.

High quality reflectors in the heavy- duty die-cast aluminium housings allow for precise aiming. The wide range of accessories (color filters, baffles etc.) suit the most difficult lighting tasks. Various sculpture- and spread-lenses permit the precise illumination of public works of art, facade and feature lighting.

In this particular project, we aren´t exactly happy with the location and positioning of our lights. Unfortunately, this is very often beyond our control. Each outdated “watchman light” with 400W was replaced by a single 70W R1MiniS projector (35W and 150W versions also available). Integrated control gear means that the already cluttered streetpoles now look much less messy.

R1MiniS are IP65 watertight rated and have high-end features like pressure equalisation valves, various optical lenses, beam spreads and 3rd generation control gear. They are ideal for longlasting permanent outdoor applications.


Customer : Melbourne City Council
Lighting Designers : WEBB Australia
Photography : Jee Wee Ong

Related links :
3AW DeBortoli Pub of the Year
Victorian State Craft Collection
VIC government press release
State Library of Victoria

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27 October 2006

Melbourne´s Albert Park -- Australia´s F1 Grand Prix venue




This is Melbourne´s premier park -- annually transforming into the Australian F1 Grand Prix venue, as well as being the place for Melbournians to jog, play golf, or have a leisurely walk along Lakeside Drive on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Several clubs use the many sports grounds in the park for training and friendly matches. For this purpose, several Cricket and AFL ovals were recently upgraded with SITECO A2Maxi floodlights.
As the park is surrounded by buildings and busy roads, the control of glare as well as spill light was of concern. The old floodlights which were replaced were tilted to a nearly upright vertical position, causing glare far and wide. In contrast, the new extreme asymmetric reflectors of SITECO´s A2Maxi allowed nearly horizontal positioning.

Products used : SITECO A2Maxi 2000 Watt floodlights
Customer : PARKS Victoria
Lighting Calculations : ANTARA

Extremely asymmetric reflectors allow these floodlights (in Australia sometimes referred to as “environmental floods” ) to be installed in a nearly horizontal position.
The IP65 watertight design, pressure equalisation valves, forced mains-disconnect and precise adjustment scales for aiming make the A2Maxi the preferred choice for professional sports lighting. Long life and low maintenance are the attraction for owners and operators of public lighting installations.
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29 August 2006

Outdoor Lighting Test Center

The outdoor lighting test center at the SITECO factory in Traunreut, Germany is something special. There are only two installations of this kind in the world. Around 75 tests and presentations take place here annually, and approximately 2.500 visitors come to the lighting test center each year.

The demonstrations are usually frequented by representatives of local authorities or utility companies, seeking information on cost savings, safety enhancements and aesthetically pleasing street lighting. However, others such as TÜV, DEKRA (German safety testing institutions), the police and the Federal Supreme Court have taken part in the events.
During daytime, the area looks like a loading dock. Four overhead portals / cranes line the street. Many different outdoor luminaires are installed on the vertical lift beams of the portals. The presentations begin when darkness falls.

Neighbouring the large OSRAM plant and the BSHG BOSCH-SIEMENS-HAUSGERÄTE factory in Traunreut´s industrial area, the test road takes pride of place between SITECO´s Light Innovation Center (after 35year of service, a new one is currently being built) and its headquarter building.

Tonight´s first setting: standard fluorescent lights - - still installed in many municipalities - - throw their dim light onto the street. An automobile drives up. The headlights dazzle. The child (a cardboard model) next to the automobile is hardly visible. The lighting is changed. Modern luminaires with multi-faceted reflector optics and metal halide lamps illuminate the scene. A murmur passes through the rows of observers – the difference is obvious.

Several other scenarios follow. Today´s demonstration, which was preceded by a presentation on the principles of lighting technology, lasts about an hour. At the end, the visitors have experienced what no 3D computer simulation can provide: variations in illumination subjected to direct and graphic comparison under real conditions. The events at the lighting test road are a valuable assistance in reaching a decision that could not otherwise be made.

In the past, only economic considerations, reliability and ease of maintenance were of importance. Today, spill light, glare and upward light emission issues are becoming more important than ever. The amount of light emitted upwards into the hemisphere is to be kept to an absolute minimum. To this end, SITECO designs outdoor luminaires to the recommendations proposed by the "International Dark-Sky Association".

27 August 2006

Piazza Italia, Argyle Square, Lygon Street, Melbourne

ANTARA / SITECO light up the heart of Melbourne´s "Little Italy"
Piazza Italia is a celebration of the contribution of Italian migrants to the diverse culture of Melbourne. This uniquely Melbourne space is
welcoming, safe and comfortable, featuring new gardens, traditional handcrafted Italian porphyry stone paving, and a giant solar clock that will delight visitors for generations to come. Piazza Italia forms the Eastern end of Argyle Square. The foundation stone for the project was unveiled jointly by Lord Mayor John So and Consul General of Italy, Dr Francesco Calogero on 22 June 2005. The Lord Mayor John So said the Piazza will be a wonderful addition to Melbourne’s famous Italian precinct, Lygon Street. "Melbourne is proud of the sister city relationship with Milan which we signed in March 2004.” Piazza Italia was officially opened on 29th January 2006 and in July 2006 received a Victorian Master Builder’s Association “Excellence in Construction” award in the specialist subcontractor category.

Product used : SITECO R1MiniS compact projectors
Extremely compact design with integrated control gear make the R1MiniS an obvious choice where the projectors´ elegant appearance is an integral part of the architectural design. Typical uses are garden, landscape, building and sculpture lighting. The wide range of accessories (color filters, baffles etc.) suit the most difficult lighting tasks. Various sculpture- and spread-lenses allow precise illumination of public works of art, facade and feature lighting. The IP65 watertight design and professional features like pressure equalisation valves and 3rd generation control gear make the R1MiniS suitable for indoor as well as longlasting permanent outdoor applications.
Customer : Melbourne City Council
Lighting Designers : WEBB Australia
(pictures City of Melbourne copyright)
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Australian Government Report : Public Lighting

A 54-page report prepared by Kevin Poulton & Associates, Genesis Automation and Deni Greene Consulting Services for the Australian Greenhouse Office makes for interesting reading (see link below).

Inter alia, it highlights that :
“current public lighting in Australia, particularly for minor roads and streets, uses large amounts of energy and financial resources, while typically failing to provide high quality lighting. It is possible to improve lighting quality while reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and lowering costs”.

The report goes on to mention the "apparent failure of most minor road public lighting to meet AS1158", and the "insufficient data on the performance requirements for public lighting". It says that "Modern, well designed, public lighting, . . . , upgrades also have the potential to improve illuminance, light distribution, light colour, reliability, reduce glare and reduce stray and upward light."

As a supplier of high-end lighting products and services, we welcome this report and invite all parties concerned (councils, utilities, electricity distributors, traffic authorities, consultants, developers) to enter into a dialogue with us.

We argue that the present approval procedures for modern products, suitable for achieving the report´s objectives, are a hindrance. Customers (e.g. councils) put themselves at risk of litigation over unsuitable or inadequate lighting in our ever-more litigious society.
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26 August 2006

Lighting Design : Mitsubishi exhibition stand

One of the more interesting projects in Australia so far. We better come clean straight away and admit that this did not go through. As you probably know, Mitsubishi Australia is doing it tough at the moment. They were not prepared to go ahead with our proposal due to budget constraints.

The original brief from the client was to light their mobile exhibition stand in a totally different manner than is normally done :
* easy to install and disassemble; mobile stand easy to relocate
* uniform lighting with good definition of the exhibited cars
* no theatrical lighting rig hanging over the stand
* no direct floodlighting which causes glare
* no spill light to neighboring stands

Our proposal included Mirrortec(tm) secondary reflector systems mounted on 4 poles. These reflectors break up the glare from 8 powerful floodlights, and distribute the light in a clearly defined "footprint". The poles would form part of the exhibition stand without any need for additional lighting.
Mirrortec(tm) panels -- with dozens of multiple convex elements -- must be carefully computer calculated, but the effort is worthwile. Wouldn't you have loved to see this exhibition stand ?

This is what the Mitsubishi stand did look like at the Melbourne 2006 Auto Show. We invite you to judge for yourself . . . .

25 August 2006

Melbourne´s Southgate Promenade - come and see the light !

Stroll along Southgate Promenade to enjoy a view of Melbourne´s increasingly spectacular skyline. Shop in one of the boutiques of Southgate Building, or buy an ice-cream after a delicious meal in one of the restaurants dotting this riverside walk along the Yarra.

At any time of year this stroll is a pleasure. Even the trees are now lit up -- their seasonal colours rendered by high-quality compact projectors -- to make the experience of a leisurely evening even more enchanting.

Customer : Melbourne City Council / Savills Southgate
Lighting Designers : WEBB Australia
Photography : Jee Wee Ong
Products used : SITECO R1MiniS compact projectors / Linear Spread Lens no. 555

Its extremely compact design with integrated control gear make the R1MiniS an obvious choice where the projectors´ elegant appearance is an integral part of the architectural design.

Typical uses are garden, landscape, building and sculpture lighting. The wide range of accessories (color filters, baffles etc.) suit the most difficult lighting tasks. Various sculpture- and spread-lenses allow precise illumination of public works of art, facade and feature lighting.

The IP65 watertight design and professional features like pressure equalisation valves and 3rd generation control gear make the R1MiniS suitable for indoor as well as longlasting permanent outdoor applications.
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24 August 2006

Manningham -- excellent sports lighting within budget

The football field in the Park Avenue Reserve is a long-stablished sports and recreation venue of the City of Manningham. Located directly adjacent to the Eastern Freeway, sportslighting here is subject to stringent requirements with regard to light spill. Consequently, glare control was high on the agenda when it came to renovating the lighting here, and SITECO´s A2Maxi floodlights with 2000 Watt short-arc lamps were chosen for this purpose.

Being fringed by residential areas to the north and having Melbourne´s busiest freeway directly at its southern perimeter, the park´s owners also wanted to make use of existing concrete poles to save on the limited budget.

The solution was to use ANTARA´s weather-proof outdoor control gear strapped to the poles with steelbands. The control gear units, well-ventilated in their extruded aluminium housings, deliver 11.3 Amps of current to the short-arc lamps. These in turn allow for extremely precise “cut-off” and deliver a higher color-rendering Ra>90 than their long-arc equivalents.

Most floodlights installed in similar sportsgrounds are tilted to a nearly upright vertical position, causing glare far and wide.
The products used here, SITECO A2Maxi 2000 Watt floodlights (equipped with short-arc lamps) and their extremely asymmetric reflectors (in Australia sometimes referred to as “environmental floods” ), can be installed in a nearly horizontal position.

The IP65 watertight design, pressure equalisation valves, forced mains-disconnect and precise adjustment scales for aiming make the A2Maxi the preferred choice for professional sports lighting. Long life and low maintenance are the attraction for owners and operators of public lighting installations.
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23 August 2006

Melbourne´s St Kilda Road in colourful light

Melbourne´s St Kilda Road is part of the city´s living room. It connects the city center´s Princes Bridge with the townhall of entertainment- and beach-suburb St. Kilda.
The Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Shrine of Remembrance, King´s Domain, Fawkner Park and Albert Park are all connected to this major city center thoroughfare.

Shady trees line most of the road and to emphasise their beauty at night, are lit by SITECO A1Mini floodlights equipped with blue metal-halide lamps. The striking contrast between these and the yellowish glow from streetlights and reddish vehicle rear- and brakelights make for a colourful display.

The extreme asymmetric characteristics of the A1Mini floodlights -- mounted face up in the lower branches of the trees -- allowed for a far enough outward spread to light up the wide canopies of these mature trees. With their compact and slim body shape -- only 83mm -- these high-performance metal-halide floodlights nevertheless remain unobtrusive during the daytime.

Customer : City of Melbourne
Lighting Design : WEBB
Photography : Jee Wee Ong
Products used : SITECO A1Mini (with blue metal-halide lamps)

Extremely asymmetric reflectors allow these floodlights (in Australia sometimes called “environmental floods” ) to be installed in a nearly horizontal position for “forward throw”.

The IP65 watertight design, heavy-duty die-cast aluminium housing, and very slim body make the A1 Mini the preferred choice for architectural and façade lighting. Long life and low maintenance are the attraction for owners and operators of public lighting installations.
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22 August 2006

Melbourne´s landmark "ANGEL" sculpture


ANGEL is one of Melbourne´s iconic landmarks. The 10-metre-high, two-headed sculpture was recently relocated from the National Gallery to the north bank of the Yarra River at Birrarung Marr. It can be seen from as far away as Princes Bridge.

Deborah Halpern’s public sculpture, made from colorful ceramic mosaic tiles, will be welcomed back to public display with great fondness by Melbournians who regard it as one of the city’s great symbols.
Deborah’s work also includes OPHELIA -- located at Southgate -- which was named the official face of Melbourne by Tourism Victoria in 1996.

Customer : Melbourne City Council
Lighting Designers : WEBB Australia
Photography : Jee Wee Ong
Lighting product : SITECO R1MiniS compact projectors + Linear Spread Lens no. 555

Its extremely compact design with integrated control gear make R1MiniS an unobtrusive choice, where this projectors´ elegant appearance is an integral part of the overall design.

Typical uses are garden, landscape, architecture and sculpture lighting. The wide range of accessories (color filters, baffles etc.) suit the most difficult lighting tasks.

Watertight IP65 rating, pressure equalisation valve and quality control gear make the R1MiniS suitable for indoor as well as permanent outdoor applications and guarantee long, reliable service.
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21 August 2006

Shanghai F1 Grand Prix

SITECO secondary reflector technology lights up F1 in China

Formula One celebrated its Chinese debut in 2004 at the new Shanghai International Circuit, built about one hour from the city centre. German motorsport architect Hermann Tilke designed a 5.45km long circuit with seven left and seven right-hand
corners.

Far-East Culture . . .
The circuit is based on the form of the chinese letter 'shang', which means 'high above'. The longest straight is to be found between curves 13 and 14. The drivers go to the limit for almost 1.2km and can reach a top speed of over 330km/h.

The main advantage of the circuit is its multifunctionality. Formula One series, sports and touring races, motorcycle races and manufacturer challenges can take place in Shanghai. The architecture of the buildings situated on the main straight are to a large extent based on chinese history, nature and technology. The boxstop area with control tower as well as the main tribune with press area form a double-gated arrangement that reflects the importance of Shanghai as a gateway to the world.

. . . combined with high-tech functionality . . .
The roofs of the secondary tribunes are reminiscent of lotus blossoms and symbolise the unchangeable, protective equilibrium of nature and technology. Even with the choice of colours (red and gold), nothing was left to accident. According to chinese philosophy, 'when luck (red) and power (gold) are combined, success cannot be restrained'. Despite these connections to chinese culture, the new prestige project is characterised by dynamic architectural forms and high-tech materials such as reflective aluminium, glass and steel. The Shanghai circuit was technically the most complex and expensive Formula One circuit in the world, with a construction period of 18 months.

. . . and precisely directed light .
SITECO secondary reflector technology illuminates the access areas of the new Shanghai circuit. The light distribution defines clearly and concisely the individual sectors :- traffic zones are illuminated, darkness is left at night where it makes sense :- on the grassed areas. SITECO's Mirrortec(tm) technology forms a direct symbiosis between far-east traditions and western know-how. It is generally used in situations where sophisticated and architecturally integrated lighting solutions are required.

SITECO Mirrortec (tm) on the fast track !
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19 August 2006

AUDI works -- where the TT roadster is born

AUDI TT chassis production, Ingolstadt













Architect : Obermayer Planen und Beraten, Munich
Consultant : Fact GmbH, Böblingen
Contractor : Hörmann Industrietechnik, Gaimersheim

Homogenous Lighting Levels For The Manufacture Of Sporty Roadsters

The new generation of Audi TT Coupés and roadsters come to light at the Ingolstadt factory. Over 3,100 SITECO luminaires make the ‚birth’ of the cars a truly illuminating experience -- especially for the employees, who can concentrate on their work thanks to uniformly high lighting levels.The perfect light for each individual task : - modular trunking systems, large-area highbay luminaires and modern secondary reflector technology come together to create optimum lighting conditions.

The logistics and production areas each consist of 15,900 m² of space with additional offices, social areas and stairwells. It was decided to go with the 4-lamp SITECO large area highbay luminaires (4x80W T5), mounted at 8 mtrs. These have the capability to illuminate assembly areas up to 8m on both sides of the production lines with 300 lux. That only leaves the inlay areas, wider hall areas and the stage areas needing to be lit with additional trunking luminaires (DUS and DUS-Plus), producing high vertical illuminance.














SITECO Mirrortec® technology guarantees highest levels of luminaire efficiency and a uniform illumination within the beam area for the open, foyer-like architecture of the offices and their connecting stairwells. SITECO projectors and Mirrortec® reflectors with Fresnel technology with their high-grade, minimalist design complement one another perfectly. Lunis C Downlights with their VirtualSource® reflector technology provide additional viewing comfort with high efficiency levels in those areas.
The SITECO lighting solutions implemented at Audi satisfy and go beyond the requirements of current industry standards with their high levels of uniform illuminance and vertical lighting component. The well-being of employees and their work productivity are positively influenced. Highest requirements for lighting quality correspond with the self-confidence of AUDI as a brand name combining success with passion.
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Lighting the temple of football : Allianz Arena

Much excitement was caused in Australia during the Football World Championship in Germany 2006. The Aussie "Socceroos" did very well, all matches were broadcast live on SBS Television, and a lot of fans visited Germany and its spectacular football stadiums.

The championship opening took place in Munich´s new "temple of football" named the Allianz Arena. A soccer stadium like a huge dinghy, that shines in different powerful colours. The knowledge of two companies based in the Southeast of Germany made this unconventional solution possible.

Siteco, Traunreut, and the company Covertex, Obing. Covertex provided the rhombic air cushions which build the mantle of the stadium. 2800 of those air cushions cover the 60.000 sq.m. surface of mantle and roof.

The membrane structure was necessary for the illumination of the mantle of the stadium in white (international matches) alternatively in red (FC Bayern) and blue (TSV 1860 München), the colours of the respective soccer clubs. In order to achieve the desired lighting effects, each cushion has four illuminaires. Each illuminaire is 3.50 meters long and contains six fluorescent tubes (58W) and three ballasts. Red, blue and transparent cover discs enable the colour change. A special construction of asymmetrical parabolic mirrors provide a uniform illumination of the cushions. 4.250 special illuminaires of Siteco are mounted in 1.056 membrane cushions.

Nine huge illumaires shaped like balloons provide the main entrance area in front of the stadium with light. The balloons consist of flameresistant fibre cloth foil, pressurised continiously by a fan integrated in the mast. Four lamps (1000 Watt) are positioned on arms within the balloon; special lighting engineering limits the luminance of the mantle to a quantity of less than 3.000 cd/sqm.
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18 August 2006

Daylight Harvesting in Aviation Center

Transparency And Light With The 'Low Energy Building'

Architects Ingenhoven and Partner (Düsseldorf) and Engineers Werner Sobek Partners have achieved a unique representation of an aviation company :
the new LUFTHANSA Aviation Center (LAC) roofing is shaped according to LUFTHANSA´s signet -- the wing of a crane.

The LUFTHANSA Aviation Center (LAC) is situated on a narrow strip between the "Autobahn 3" and the airport, with a view of the take-off and landing runways. The doubly-curved, 42m long and 28cm thick reinforced concrete shells above the office areas taper from 16 to 12m towards their periphery. They rest laterally on beams of the central construction. A further highlight are the filigrane hollow concrete support pillars in the transparent atriums. The atriums, with theme-oriented, planted inner courtyards serve as acoustic and immission buffers. The inner courtyards are designed with landscapes from the five continents, symbolising Lufthansa's worlwide connections.

The air-handling was implemented according to calculations by Klaus Daniels (HL-Technik), and creates a comfortable atmosphere and high quality work space for 1,800 office workers. The energy used is two thirds less than a conventional building, and is due to the Low Energy Building's modular structure.

Natural Light Atmosphere + Absence of Glare + Energy Efficiency :
The brief was to find a solution that uses daylight to a maximum with complete avoidance of glare, and especially with respect to the theme-oriented inner courtyards. A dynamic, natural ambience should predominate in the interior design.

Further requirements were :
Maximum energy efficiency, a high light output ratio and consideration of demands for VDU (computer screen) work. SITECO installed a daylight harvesting system with micro sun shielding louvres in parts of the glazed roofing as a directionally-dependent sun and glare prevention system. BAP pendant luminaires with direct/indirect beam distribution (equipped with ELDACON® lighting technology, without louvres) were installed parallel to the facade. The luminaires come with high frequency gear and 2x1x54W T16 fluorescent lamping. Within the luminaire casing, further technical elements are incorporated such as fire detectors. In transfer areas and special zones, diverse downlights with various designs give light for orientation and for the optimal presentation of the interior design. SITECO Mirrortec® 400 double projectors illuminate the inner courtyards and serve as additional accent lighting.

Customer : LUFTHANSA
Lighting Design : SITECO
Pictures : SITECO
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