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Sandton City Office Tower is one of the landmarks of this buzzing premium commercial and exclusive residential district of Johannesburg, South Africa.
The building’s owners and operators Liberty Properties wanted a lighting scheme for its distinctive 40 x 40 metre pyramid shaped ‘cap’, which tops the 110 metre/463 ft. high, 22-storey skyscraper providing commercial office space.
The metal louvred cap protrudes 15 metres above the roof level of the building, and the 3 metre by 3 metre spire towers 21 metres above that.
The client’s brief was simply for “colour changing” lights, so installation specialist DWR Distribution suggested several options for their consideration, from which they chose a scheme involving 84 x Anolis fixtures.
These are divided into 60 x ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 RGBs with 31-degree lenses, utilised for the side panels and base of the cap, and 24 x Divine 160 RGBWs, sixteen fitted with 41-degree lenses plus eight with 24-degree lenses to precisely fill the cap spire with beautiful, rich and colour changing luminescence.
The building was first opened in 1973 and dominated Sandton’s skyline for four decades. However recent new waves of construction and investment have resulted in a flurry of new tall buildings, propelling the owners to engage in a spectacular revamp that started in 2014. This has seen the replacement of all the external cladding around the concrete structure in a spectacular upgrade to keep it relevant and fluid amidst an ever-changing cityscape.
The new lighting scheme was replacing an aging old white LED installation.
They needed something that would firstly offer excellent colours, as that was the client’s main stipulation… after which it had to look fantastic, be reliable, durable and cost effective.
Anolis ticked all the boxes.
The ArcLine fixtures are located on and around the existing roof sections forming the base of the steel structure which is supporting the cap’s metal flats. They evenly wash these fasciae as they rise above the ‘Sandton City Tower’ sign.
The spire part of the cap is lit from the inside by the Divines, which are strategically positioned and secured to concrete plinths as well as to the peak’s structural I-beams via special brackets.
The fixtures are in a variety of positions, optimised to give the most comprehensive coverage beaming right up the tower.
The punchy superb quality of the light from the Divines ensures delivery of the range of colours the client wanted, which are in addition to the signature blue of Liberty’s corporate ident.
This design and installation gives them the flexibility to be able to turn the cap different colours for special occasions like Christmas and other commemorative occasions or events.
The fixtures are all powered by Anolis’s ArcControl DRS (DIN Rail System) - a modular system perfect for this project.
The compact design concept of the Anolis DRS means just the power elements needed for the job can be installed at the time – a neat, cost efficient solution that’s fully - and easily - expandable for the future should more fixtures be added to a scheme.
The lights are controlled by a Virtual Productions QuadCore PC running their proprietary Kiosk software.
The building now really stands out like a tasteful beacon visible from many miles away including downtown Johannesburg and all the neighbouring suburbs… and the client is delighted.