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    Chamaeleon LEDs illuminate Heathrow advertising sign

    Sept. 7, 2006
    A high-profile advertising wall at Heathrow airport's Terminal 3 uses LED lighting and controls supplied by Chamaeleon Technologies.
    Content Dam Leds En Articles 2006 09 Chamaeleon Leds Illuminate Heathrow Advertising Sign Leftcolumn Article Thumbnailimage File
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    UK LED lighting specialists Chamaeleon Technologies has supplied and installed color-changing LED lighting and controls for the "Lightwave Wall", a prestige advertising project located outside Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, London.

    The primary advertising facia, and the adjacent curved line of towers carrying the advertiser's logo, are washed with color using linear LED fixtures. Chamaeleon installed nine 1200 UB wall washers beneath the fascia, and a smaller Astrum 320 to uplight each of the 22 towers, making 31 fixtures in total.

    The so-called "Lightwave Wall" is owned by Paris-based mainstream outdoor advertising contractor JC Decaux, and was designed and constructed in Tilbury, Essex by Fab Signs.

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    "We were brought in by Fab Signs at the planning stage," said Chamaeleon technical director Adam Knight. "JC Decaux specified that [the advertising hoarding] must be effectively lit both structurally, and for the efficient display of their clients' advertisements."

    Chamaeleon's role, explained Knight, was to provide an effective lighting solution to provide a dynamic enhancement to the structure of the wall, and which would color change and harmonize with all future advertisements. As shown in the photos, the first client was Singapore Airlines.

    "The structure is stainless steel, which isn’t always the easiest thing to light," said Chamaeleon managing director Kevin Knight. "The structural considerations pointed towards up-lighting. The lighting had to be powerful enough to compete at night with a car-park, street lights and a petrol station, as well as car headlights and everything else you might get at a busy airport after dark."

    Fab Signs realized that LED RGB lighting, with its color versatility and control factors, would be perfect for the project. "Maintenance was also an important issue," added Kevin Knight, "and the longevity of our LED fittings was very much a contributory reason for our being considered to provide the lighting."

    The LED lighting is controlled using DMX color control and effects programmed by Chamaeleon, using its own Saturn Titanius DMX controllers and Prometheus software.