Since its opening in 1997, SEA LIFE London has been one of the largest underwater exhibitions in Europe and receives more than a million visitors per year. Situated right next to the famous Coca-Cola London observation wheel, the aquarium contains numerous attractions, including Penguin Point – a huge Antarctic penguin landscape.
In 2016, Penguin Point was restructured and extended to incorporate a large pool, a waterfall, and rocks as well as various viewing and observation points for the visitors. To create the atmospheric and species-appropriate lighting for the nested, ice-dominated landscape, the operator of SEA LIFE London, Merlin Entertainment, enlisted the services of Illuminate Design, based in Witham, north-east of London.
The fixed installation presented the AV professionals from Illuminate Design with a special challenge. Due to the damp and cold conditions (depending on position), the spotlights not only had to be IP65-certified, but also provide a natural and versatile colour spectrum in order to best support the natural living conditions of the penguins. For this purpose, Illuminate Design chose the FLAT PRO spotlight from Cameo Lights.
In addition to 15 FLAT PRO LED PAR spotlights (FLAT PRO 7, FLAT PRO 7 IP65, FLAT PRO 12), which were mainly installed on the walls and ceiling of Penguin Point, Illuminate Design mounted a total of 15 IP65-certified FLAT PRO FLOOD 600s on triple E rail systems, so as to position the LED floodlights above the pool and provide safe and easy access to the whole area for maintenance work.
The FLAT PRO FLOOD 600 IP65 is a convection-cooled, IP65-rated LED floodlight from the compact Cameo FLAT PRO series. Equipped with nine 12-watt 6-in-1 LEDs, the FLAT PRO FLOOD 600 IP65 delivers bright, natural RGBWA colour blends with a 40° beam angle. A refresh rate of 3,000 Hz also ensures flicker-free performance from the LED floodlight. In addition, the supplied universal mounting bracket provides a variety of mounting options for a wide range of environments – a perfect choice for the SEA LIFE London.
“We chose the Cameo FLAT PRO series because, in addition to their robustness, the spotlights have a wide and uniform beam range, and their RGBWA colour-blending provides ideal lighting conditions for Penguin Point in accordance with SEA LIFE regulations”, explained Robin Shephard Blandy, Sales Director, Illuminate Design. “The broad colour spectrum enabled us to provide a smooth transition from day to night for the penguins, which also supports the in-house breeding programme.”
In addition to the high lighting requirements, regular maintenance is a particular challenge for the spotlights. “The interior area is cleaned regularly”, said Robin “This includes spraying the walls on which the Cameo lights are installed. For this reason, they must be extremely resistant and be protected against water jets at appropriate points from all directions.”
The following products were used in the SEA LIFE London installation:
15 x Cameo FLAT PRO FLOOD 600
8 x Cameo FLAT PRO 7
5 x Cameo FLAT PRO 12
2 x Cameo FLAT PRO 7 IP
