Fire-Breathing Fixture | lighting.com

Happy Chinese New Year!

LightArt – an arm of 3form, the manufacturer of Ecoresin, a co-polyester recycled-content product – has completed work on an eye-popping light sculpture straight from the pages of an Anne McCaffrey novel

The project originated with a client they’d worked with before, who came up with the idea for a glowing dragon formed out of 3form’s Varia Ecoresin material. His particular site, in a office building in Southern California, has six structural cross-braces right in the middle of the office space.

The plan called for creating two dragon bodies, each with its own head, to cover the unsightly structural elements. The heads would face each other and look out over the lobby below at the main entrance. The rest of the office is full of color and all the walls are painted different colors, so the dragon would pick up on all those colors and stand out as the central feature of the space.

  LightArt used more than 20 different Varia colors. Each body has its own color scheme, one warm (yellow, reds and oranges) and the other cool (green, blues, and purples). The mixing of the various Varia layers doubled and tripled the effect, with the colors overlaying each other – giving the appearance of a bold watercolor painting.

  The lighting uses color-changing RGB LED lights. Each section of the dragon is accentuated with the complementary color produced by the LEDs. Additionally, they can be programmed to dance – creating an effect that the dragon is actually moving. The lights are controlled from an iPad, so various effects can be achieved by the operator. To add a little whimsy, the designers programmed randomly timed smoke and sound effects, which can catch passersby by surprise.

This is, after all, the Year of the Dragon, so LightArt wanted to complete this extremely complex project in time for the start of the Chinese new year – a tight deadline.

  The challenge was to create a dragon that didn’t look cartoonish – one that was sculptural and sophisticated, yet not mean-looking. It was either going to come out looking horribly kitschy, or it would be a dramatic artistic success. Fortunately, the artisans involved were able to build a beautiful creation, one that stands out as a true celebration of 2012.

Details:

• 75 feet long (both halves)
• 6 sections, 2 heads
• RGB LED lighting with full DMX control via iPad
• 3 months to build

Written by Ryan Smith, president and creative director, 3form|LightArt

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