Guerrilla Lighting Belfast
On the 18th of March over 80 QUB architecture students descended on Belfast city centre dressed entirely in black, armed with industrial search lights and accompanied by police escort. Their aim? To give Belfast’s architecture new light.
In an earlier assignment, in collaboration with Guerillalighting.net and BDP, a delegation of students strategically marked schemes which suffer from poor lighting in a ‘light mapping’ exercise of Belfast. Of the four schemes selected to be re-considered QUB students nominated three. In the interim period the Guerrillas produced lighting schemes to compliment the architecture of the schemes which were in need of reconsidering their radiance.
The first building to receive the torch based scrutiny was the BBC Building. The second year guerrillas quickly got to grips with their new tools and light the building according to it’s original red, green and blue logo.
After many confused looks from pedestrians along the way the group of over 200 people, including corporate guests, and UU landscape architects, made it to Belfast Metropolitan College where a complex display of timed lighting was executed. The purposes of this installation was to perform the lighting sequence which was fto be ilmed and produced to music. The finished video should read like a graphic equaliser on a stereo with the vivid colours switching in time to the music.
The third site was Buoy Park outside University of Ulster where the team set about lighting the sculptural forms while lighting the ground surfaces with rows of L.E.D.s. while the fourth and final site was St Anne’s Cathedral where the guerilla’s skillfully light and emphasised the architecture.
The night finished with a reception at the University of Ulster where the photos were displayed and the Guerillas could see their artistry.
The second year students had an enjoyable night while at the same time recognising the importance of material and light and it’s influence on the urban nightscape.
All images are available in the Gallery section of guerillalighting.net.
Check out more photos by QUB second year students Chris Gaule, Dayle Fullerton, and Catherine Telford.
Special thanks to all the Guerrillas and all supporters from University of Ulster and Queen’s University Belfast.
Thanks also to the sponsors: iGuzzini, Chroma Lighting, Concord Lighting, Zumtobel, Thorn, ECI Lighting, Urbis, NMK / DesignPlan Lighting, Philips and Osram.
