“Once the city knew that we were working on the project and they had been awarded the Super Bowl bid they said we had to have the lights up in time. Shortening the construction time for the 2017 Super Bowl was another obstacle. Beam spreads and glare shields were chosen to highlight the structure without wasting light, while direct-view fixtures ensured that the six curves of the bridges could be easily seen from a distance.
MEDIATUBE VS BELL DRIVERS
“We made several trips to the State Capitol to walk them through everything and how it works.” With drivers passing underneath the bridges and planes flying overhead, Gandy worked with the DoT to make sure glare control standards were met. “There wasn’t an architect above us so meeting their standards, putting together a team with electrical engineers working for us was a little out of the ordinary, but a great experience,” recalls Gandy. We do all the changing of colors ourselves and we help them with scheduling and maintenance.”Ĭlick images for larger view The State and the CityĪlong with the city of Houston, Gandy also worked with the Texas Department of Transportation Standards for Roadway Applications. “It’s not a project we consider complete because we still help the city operate the lights. To this day, Gandy still helps with the day-to-day operations of the bridges’ lighting. The controls also allow scenes to be managed via the Internet. The controls allow the bridges to function as one coordinated design, changing colors simultaneously or creating a rolling effect across the 10-block span. To deploy different lighting scenes across the bridges, DMX controls (e:cue) are used, with data hardwired to one bridge and wireless controls connecting the others. “We ended up using two different fixture types from Traxon.” Floodlights (Traxon’s Washer Allegro) are used to wash the truss work of the bridges while the inside and outside of the arches are lined with direct-view fixtures (Traxon’s Media Tube), which illuminate the bridges in pre-determined color schemes. “We were really only looking at some of the larger companies in the industry because it was a significant expense and we wanted someone who could really stand by it long term if there turned out to be any issues,” says Gandy.
He also made sure to choose a manufacturer with a proven track record. Gandy decided early on to work with one manufacturer to keep technical issues to a minimum. Route 59, Gandy had to work with the Department of Transportation to overcome the challenges that came with such a large-scale project. “The illuminated bridges have been a major draw for locals, visitors, media and photographers.” Due to the bridges’ location over U.S. The neighborhood, which the bridges span, wanted to change that and turned to lighting to create a bold signature statement across 10 city blocks,” says Gandy, who served as the principal lighting designer on the project, which won a 2018 IES Illumination Award of Merit. “Houston is a city with wonderful attributes, yet few recognizable landmarks. “We had to bump up our finish date six months ahead of schedule,” says Lance Gandy of Gandy 2 Lighting Design, whose Houston-based firm had been in the process of lighting six 230-ft-long bridges in the area since 2013. Landmarks can stir up a sense of hometown pride and as host of Super Bowl LI in 2017, Houston found itself in the fortunate position of having a new landmark ready to be unveiled … almost. has the Capitol Building and the Liberty Bell is often one of the few things non-Philadelphians can name about the city. The Empire State Building decorates countless New York postcards, the Space Needle looms above Seattle, Washington D.C.
Out of all the cities in the U.S., only a few are punctuated by broadly recognizable landmarks. Six bridges lit just in the nick of time helped Houston make a statement
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