Tudor Square is a pedestrian square located in
the centre of Sheffield.
The square is bordered by the Crucible Theatre,
Lyceum Theatre, Central Library, Millennium Winter Garden and a number
of commercial properties. The architectural style of the surrounding
buildings varies considerably.
The
square hosts a number of events throughout the year such as "Fright
Night" and many celebrations associated with the World Snooker
Championships held at the adjacent Crucible Theatre.
Selected Photographs Courtesy of Rob McPherson.
Concept
The architectural concept for the remodelling of Tudor Square was related
to the idea of water rolling down the hill from the Winter Garden to
the Crucible Theatre. Artificial mister units were included to simulate
the idea of mist rolling off the water. “Pebble” planter
beds are located to either side of the square in the same way you may
find pebbles on the edges of water bodies.
The lighting design concept for the square was
to reinforce the idea of water. Approximately 250 inground LED luminaires
were utilised to simulate the reflection of stars in water, tying in
with the interior of the Crucible Theatre’s famed star ceiling.
Some of the inground LED lumianires are located adjacent to pebbles,
mimicking water lapping at their edges.
Façade
lighting designs were also developed for the surrounding buildings to
create a suitable backdrop to the square, reinforcing distant views
and encouraging progression into the space.
Façade
Lighting
· Careful consideration had to be given in locating lumianires,
cabling and control equipment for the illumination of the grade listed
Central Library and Lyceum Theatre.
· Luminaire mounting locations for the illumination of the Winter
Garden’s front arch were restricted. In depth calculations were
performed to identify required luminaire beam angles, lenses and mounting
locations to illuminate the front face of the arch as evenly as possible.
Events
and Articulated Lorries
The central space in Tudor Square had to be kept clear for events and
the access of articulated lorries. This posed many technical problems
including:
· Location and selection of appropriate lumianires and columns
to achieve the client’s request for a CE2 road lighting classification.
· Specification of inground luminaires capable of withstanding
drive-over forces of an articulated lorry.
Lighting
Controls
To ensure full flexibility of the space for events, the client desired
a high level of control over the individual streetlights, groups of
lighting and building facades. A fully programmable architectural lighting
control scheme was installed with the following features:
· The Lyceum and Central Library Buildings have their own lighting
control systems. To allow all square and building lighting to be controlled
from a central location, the building’s individual façade
lighting control systems communicate with the central lighting control
system via the Council’s existing ethernet infrastructure, reducing
the number of control cables, associated trenching and installation
costs involved.
· The lighting controls fully interface with the mister units,
negating the need for additional control equipment.
· The lighting controls operate via a solar time clock. If required,
specific lighting scenes can be selected either from the control equipment
on site or from any PC (with appropriate software and security login)
connected to the Council’s ethernet.
Lamp Sources
· Lamps with differing colour correlated temperatures were chosen
to create contrast and drama within the square and it’s immediate
surrounds.
· Colour changing LEDs were used in the mister units, Central
Library and Crucible Corner building to add further contrast and enhance
views towards Tudor Square from the surrounding areas of the city.
(Please note: the Crucible Theatre underwent a refurbishment during
the remodelling of Tudor Square, although the lighting design of the
theatre was not carried out by dpa lighting design, consideration was
given to it's lighting scheme to integrate it with the lighting design
for Tudor Square.)
