In 2011, Danish waste management company KARA/NOVEREN set out to replace two furnaces with a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy incineration line. Three years later the incineration line, or more popularly referred to as The Energy Tower, stands tall on the skyline of the Danish City of Roskilde, ready for its opening today, September 2nd 2014 with HARMAN’s Martin Professional lighting fixtures.Increasing demands to reduce Co2 emissions from fossil fuels calls for
alternative energy production, and implementing a modern facility will allow
KARA/NOVEREN to utilize the energy resources from residual waste that cannot
otherwise be recycled. In line with KARA/NOVEREN’s vision was for The Energy
Tower to become a new Danish landmark. Naturally they wanted an energy
efficient lighting solution to go with it so 112 Martin Exterior 410
fixtures and 78 Tripix 1200 LED strips were installed, controlled by
Martin’s M-PC software.

KARA/NOVEREN envisioned a structure with the ability to communicate and
relay messages of sustainable energy to the public. Located only a few
hundred meters from one of the major inroads to the Danish Capital of
Copenhagen, it has a huge reach and potentially thousands of spectators on a
daily basis.

The Energy Tower was designed by Dutch Architect and expert in sustainable
design Erick Van Egeraat, who brought in Danish Lighting Architect Gunver
Hansen to identify and implement the most optimal lighting solution. An
extensive testing phase began to determine the best choice of fixtures. The
requirements for these fixtures were very specific. First of all the
lighting solution had to be able to reproduce the lighting concept created
by Van Egeraat (described below). All fixtures should be individually
controllable to give the building a dynamic expression. It was also crucial
that the fixtures would be able to illuminate the relatively difficult
projection surface, which was dark and very diverse. At the same time the
lighting should be bright and powerful enough to be seen from a distance.
Finally, of course there was also a desire for low power consumption.

Even before the construction process had started, various forms of testing
were performed on surfaces that resembled the projection surface of The
Energy Tower. Ultimately, Martin Professional’s Exterior range fixtures were
chosen for the project due to their size, durability, and color reproduction
capabilities.

Van Egeraat’s vision for the lighting was for it to be an aesthetic
contribution to The Energy Tower as a new landmark, and that it should
signal the processes that take place inside of the tower and portray the
combustion and energy making process. “At night the backlight perforated
façade transforms the incinerator into a gently glowing beacon - a symbol of
the plant’s energy production,” said Erick van Egeraat. “Several times an
hour a spark of light will gradually grow into a burning flame that lights
up the entire building. When the metaphorical fire ceases, the building
falls back into a state of burning embers.”

Van Egeraat’s vision for the lighting was for it to be an aesthetic
contribution to The Energy Tower as a new landmark, and that it should
signal the processes that take place inside of the tower. The lighting
scenario that is in place for the opening starts with a white flickering at
the bottom that spreads to the whole tower. For a few minutes every hour the
spark gradually grows into a blazing flame that encases the whole building.
The array of warm colors resembling flames and glowing coals are meant to
portray the combustion and energy making process.

“When I designed the tower I wanted the lighting design to complement the
building and express what type of building it is and what it does,” said Van
Egeraat. “The lighting solution has proven to have many more options than we
originally anticipated, and therefore we are now working on additional
lighting designs for special occasions such as the Danish Constitution Day,
cultural and sporting events etc. Citizens of Roskilde and the surrounding
areas will be in for a treat.”

According to Gunver Hansen this was one of the more challenging projects of
her career. The structure itself consists of a framing grid built around the
new chimney. An amber-colored aluminum plating is mounted onto the grid to
form the exterior facade of the tower. The fixtures are mounted inside on
the grid between the outer facade and the facade of the inner building, and
the fixtures project onto the inner facade, which is visible at night
through the laser-cut circular openings of the outer facade. Many factors
had to be taken into consideration, e.g. the distance between the exterior
facade and the interior projection surface varies across the entire
structure. Therefore each individual fixture had to be placed carefully so
the colors would mix correctly and the output would be even. Also, as the
direct view into the LEDs in the fixtures had to be avoided, a number of the
projectors had to be screened off with a specially designed grid.

The next challenge that presented itself was how to mount the fixtures. A
lift was not an option as the fixtures had to be mounted between the inner
surface and the new exterior facade. As the space was not accessible to any
kind of machinery, a team of professional climbers from Danclimb was hired
to mount the fixtures via rope access.

Today, on its opening day, the tower is already a well-known landmark and
the object of admiration for passers-by. “We’ve already received an
overwhelming public support for this project,” said Thorkil Jørgensen, CEO
of KARA/NOVEREN. “People respond very well to the idea and the concept, and
they really like what it adds to the area in terms of architecture and
beautiful lighting. This is extremely valuable to us for branding purposes
and to secure a future leading position in waste management. We see it as a
great investment on several levels. We’re happy to combine an investment in
modern waste management methods with an extraordinarily beautiful structure
and landmark for the area.”

“We’re very pleased with the end result,” Lighting Architect, Gunver Hansen
added. “The many creative possibilities for changing light color and light
patterns on the Energy Tower’s facades work amazingly. I think we have
succeeded in creating a shining Energy Tower, that is a fascinating and
magical landmark on the dark Roskilde night sky.“

Even though not officially open till today, spectators have already had
glimpses of the building in lit condition. For example during the famous
Roskilde Festival, The Energy Tower shone
orange to mirror the official color of the festival and its main stage. Part
of the magic of KARA/NOVEREN’s new Energy Tower is its ability to alter its
appearance with future lighting designs for special events, and that the
lighting concept sends the message of waste-to-energy to spectators. It is
an important message with global relevance.

The Energy Tower has been submitted for
the Danish Lighting Award
2014.

Martin Professional Equipment

Exterior 410, 112 pcs.

Tripix 1200, 78 pcs.

Control system: Martin M-PC, RDM 5.5 splitter, Ether 2DMX

Facade Design:

(designed by) Erick van Egeraat

Facade Lighting:

Architectural Concept: (designed by) Erick van Egeraat

Lighting Project: Gunver Hansen Tegnestue

Fixtures, light control, programming, and installation: Martin Professional