Blackpool Borough Council and EDAW briefed dpa lighting consultants to develop a lighting strategy that would be visually enlivening, extremely durable, encompass renewable energy sources and create an iconic feature for this area of the town. The project included lighting to the existing South Promenade together with lighting to the new Gateway Area opposite Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

The individual lighting components within the promenade scheme include solar powered LED marker luminaires to the promenade sea wall, dichroic colour changing marker lights to the tramway promenade wall and the development of a bespoke curved ‘Iconic Lighting Column’.

The lighting to the Gateway Area provides both functional lighting together with feature lighting integrated within the landscape providing additional visual interest during hours of darkness. The landmark element in this area is the large curved feature wall forming a gateway to the car park. This wall was inspired by the wave form and a dynamic LED lighting installation located within the tip of the wall represents the breaking of a wave. Uplighting to the wall further accentuates the curved form and reveals the integrated signage.

In conclusion, the project is an exemplary piece of teamwork that took a little over a year to transform a vision into reality.