Taking inspiration from a swarm of butterflies in
mid-flight, a group of students from Singapore University of Technology and
Design (SUTD) developed the unique 'Flights of Fancy' display for the 2014
Singapore Night Festival. The installation, which was the culmination of the
University's 10-week Urban Lighting course, used the Singapore National
Design Centre's expansive space to bring a true on-of-a-kind experience to
life with help from HARMAN's Martin Professional Exterior 400 LED lighting
fixtures.
Throughout the University's Urban Lighting course, students learned about
the effects of both natural and artificial light on space as well as
fundamental design concepts. The students then had the opportunity to
develop an installation for the Singapore Night Festival as part of their
final course project and according to the SUTD student team leader, Kenickie
Cher Jia Jun, Martin Professional fixtures were crucial in bringing the
team's vision for 'Flights of Fancy' to life.

Created by the careful positioning of lights and shadows, 'Flights of Fancy'
offered unique effects depending on the time of day to ensure no experience
was the same-not even for two people standing beside each other. The display
featured a large floating sculpture made of hanging dichroic films, a
reflective material the team used to mimic butterflies ascending into the
sky. To do this the SUTD student team needed a large, tall space with white
walls and used eight Marin Exterior 400s, a MAC 700 Profile, and a MAC 250
Krypton to produce a powerful light for reflections.

"One of the things we liked about the Martin fixtures was our ability to
program a dynamic design," said Kenickie. "The installation became
ever-changing, and that made the experience unique for each visitor. The
strong light source amplified the colors of the reflections and refractions
created by the dichroic film, creating the full effect that our team had
envisioned from the beginning."

The Martin fixtures were concealed in two floor boxes below the floating
sculpture and programmed to gradually change intensity and direction. Each
box contained four Exterior 400 fixtures that provided color washes that
were slowly dimmed and then brighten constantly over time. "The Martin
fixtures were extremely powerful and effective," said Lighting Designer
Shigeki Fujii, the students' course instructor. "The dimming and movement of
the lighting fixtures truly amplified the colors and the effects of the
display. Most observers did not even notice the lights were changing
intensity and direction, they thought the effect was simply due to the
wind."

The SUTD team also programmed Martin's MAC 700 Profile and MAC 250 Krypton
moving head fixtures slowly move across the sculpture. Additionally, the
lightweight of the dichroic films and the subtle movement of air throughout
the space paired with the lighting effects helped animate the color
reflections into a sea of shimmering lights.

"Space, material and light source were the three most important components
of the design," said Fujii. "The space had to be white because it need to
receive reflected light as a canvas and we also wanted daylight in the space
to allow for dramatic effect changes from day to night. The light source had
to be powerful and sharp to create crisp reflections on the space as well as
programmable to allow us to amplify the dynamic effects."

According to Fujii, the fixtures were instrumental in helping the student
team develop one of the most powerful pieces in the festival, "the students
would not have been able to complete their final project without the support
of Martin's team and the outstanding quality of their products!"