Architectural LED lighting Anolis (a Robe business) was approached by Robert Parker of the Historic Houses Association to assist in the specification of a replacement lighting scheme to illuminate the front of Knebworth House, a magnificent Grade II listed Tudor stately home in Hertfordshire, UK, dating to the 13th century.
Today the house is still a home for its ancestral Lytton family as well as being open to the public. Its features include extensive landscaped gardens, it is also an iconic open-air venue for major rock and pop concerts as well as being a charismatic event space and location for numerous film and TV shoots.
The lighting brief, recalls Anolis account and project manager Simon Gooding, was to upgrade the previous sodium lighting – probably dating back to the 1980s – with a sustainable, low maintenance, modern and cool alternative.
Simon assessed their needs, surveyed the site, and suggested four Anolis Divine 160 RGBW fixtures, three for the front façade of the house and one to cover the side elevation, together with a single ArcSource 48MC Integral to highlight the newly restored Watchman’s Tower which had been unused since the 1950s.
The client wanted to keep the existing lighting positions but wanted the additional flexibility of colour changing in addition to the signature warm white look. Lumen output and the correct optics were key to the fixture choice and critical to avoid light pollution. The Divine 160s were picked for their intensity and coverage.
Most of the positions are 20 – 40 metres away from the front of the house, an area covered by just three Divine 160s fitted with 35-degree lenses which effortlessly bathe a 75-metre-wide expanse with smooth, evenly distributed light. The fixture on the side elevation has a 65-degree lens, and all the Divine 160s are RAL coated in 9011 graphite black for continuity.
The Divine 160 is a high performance 440 Lumen output LED wash fixture that consumes substantially less electricity than their predecessors, as well as giving superior coverage and a great range of whites plus the colour changing options. This means more versatility for movie shoots, corporate shows, special events, weddings, and other occasions when a change of colour might be required.
Anolis provided one of its panel-mounted ArcControl DU units for day-to-day timed control, also programmed with a series of colour changing looks and sequences. The control is also adaptable and possible via smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
The Watchman’s Tower had previously been unlit, but, newly refurbished, it was included in the new lighting proposal, so it can now be a fully integrated element of the house’s outstanding aesthetics.
For more info about the products, check the Anolis website or on the Robe website
