Kungshalmns is a coastal harbour town in the Sotenäs Municipality in Sweden’s Västtra Götaland province. The city population of just over 3000 more than doubles during the summer months with an influx of tourists, who visit to enjoy the sailing and water sports, appreciate stunning coastline and naturally beautiful surroundings.
The Sotenäs Kommun issued a tender to design a complete new sports park in the city centre offering a variety of playing and development areas for children and young people, from beginners to professionals.
Gothenburg based creative landscape architects, Landskapasgruppen AB, received the assignment based on their framework proposal for the space. Innovative ideas and integral lighting scheme for the space, which features Anolis luminaires was then also put forward.
The Kungshalms Näridrottsplats is open to anyone wanting to practice a variety of sporting activities from skateboarding to football to basketball and is adjacent to a brand new sports training hall.
When it came to lighting the environment, Landskapasgruppen’s head lighting designer Karin Janssen chose Anolis ArcSource 48 Integral MCs as the primary fixtures to illuminate the park at dusk and bring it to life after dark, ensuring that those using the space can continue their activities safely.
“We needed a high quality luminaire that would also help create a relaxed and inclusive ambience in the park,” explained Karin. “The idea was for it to be a place where everyone is welcome to come and play or practice. Naturally there were the safety considerations, and it was important for the lighting to look good when dimmed and necessary to prevent light spillage or pollution for the nearby residential developments”.
They wanted a colour-changing fixture to create small pools of different hued light in the designated four lighting zones and Anolis is renowned for its excellent smooth and refined colour mixing. In addition to the whites, a good selection of blues and greens was required for the pre-programmed colour schemes that shift subtly throughout the evening.
The idea of using these shades came from bioluminescence, which is a common phenomenon in the ocean along Sweden’s west coast. Organisms like plankton, fireflies and angelfish can glow by releasing light-emitting molecules and an enzyme generally called the ‘luciferin’, which reacts with oxygen and creates the light.
Karin worked closely with her colleague and landscape-architect Rasmus Lagerstrőm who designed the park, and they also consulted a number of lighting experts including the projects division of Bellalite, Anolis Swedish distributor, to determine what would be the best options.
Everyone pooled ideas and considered throw distances, required lux levels, colour temperatures and the robustness and reliability of the fixtures for a tough outdoor environment, particularly in the winter … and the IP67 rated Anolis ArcSource 48MC Integrals ticked all the boxes as the best option.
The 16 x fixtures are all rigged on 8 metre high poles positioned around the park and powered from local mains. The installation was completed by local electrical company Kungshalms El.
A Pharos system is used for control, with data transmitted wirelessly to the fixtures utilising embedded Lumen Radio receivers which talk to a transmitter located on the building. A repeater rigged on one of the lighting poles ensures a good signal throughout the area. All the setup and addressing of the fixtures was done wirelessly using RDM (Remote Device Management), a function of the fixtures which also monitors wireless signal strength to ensure there is a good covering across the area.
The lights switch on automatically as dusk falls and cycle through a series of pre-set looks and scenes as the evening progresses.
White ‘activity’ settings are also pre-programmed triggered by a series of motion sensors around the park, so anyone walking through will have their path automatically lit.
In addition to sports training, it has become a community meeting place and a central location and hub for other events happening in and around the town and the locality.
