The Thames bridges in a new light. Illuminated River by Leo Villareal and Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

Description of project by Illuminated River Foundation

Concept

Illuminated River is an ambitious new public art commission to light up to 15 bridges on the Thames at night. The Illuminated River artwork is created by internationally acclaimed American artist Leo Villareal and award-winning British architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.

Illuminated River is the first artist-led, cohesive vision for the Thames bridges, celebrating them as architectural, social and historical landmarks, and creating a symbolic link across the capital.
Villareal uses the latest LED technology to ‘paint with light’, producing sequenced patterns that subtly unfold across the bridge structures. 

Villareal engages with the site of each bridge, respecting and revealing their individual histories and architectural features, while his unifying vision celebrates the Thames as London’s vital artery. Villareal takes his place in a long line of artists inspired by the Thames, using colours influenced by the palettes of Impressionist and English Romantic painters.

Illuminated River spans from Albert Bridge in the west to Tower Bridge in the east. Once complete, it will be the longest public art commission in the world at 2.5 miles in length, along 4.5 nautical miles of the River Thames. It will be seen over 2 billion people during its 10 year lifespan.

Illuminated River will create an enduring public artwork for London, reflecting its ambition and creativity on a global stage. Illuminated River will be delivered in phases, with the first phase (London, Cannon Street, Southwark and Millennium Bridges) complete Summer 2019, and the next phase (bridges from Blackfriars Road Bridge to Lambeth including Waterloo, Golden Jubilee Footbridges and Westminster Bridge) on track to be completed in Autumn 2020.

Delivery and Partners

Illuminated River is a philanthropically-funded initiative supported by the Mayor of London and is being delivered by the Illuminated River Foundation. It is free, accessible and open to all. The scheme has been developed in consultation and collaboration with over 50 organisations on and around the river, including the Port of London Authority, Historic England, Transport for London, Network Rail, London Wildlife Trust, Zoological Society London, Cross River Partnership, seven local authorities (City of London, Tower
Hamlets, Westminster, Southwark, RBKC, Lambeth, Wandsworth) from whom 30 planning permissions and 18 listed building consents have been granted.

Illuminated River aims to be a model of best practice and collaboration, demonstrating how different sectors and boroughs can work together to support cultural initiatives that make the city more attractive and accessible for everyone. The project is the  result of one of the most detailed and extensive pan-London planning processes the capital has ever seen (without an act of Parliament such as Tideway or Crossrail).

Impact

The artwork is free and publicly accessible for all to enjoy and will be in place for at least 10 years. We calculate that it will be viewed more than 137 million times each year, by Londoners and visitors crossing the bridges, commuting and strolling along the river banks.

London’s status as an international capital with a vibrant nighttime economy is reflected in the scale of this project. Illuminated River will enrich the experience of travelling along and across the river at night, at street level, on foot and by boat, and will also encourage Londoners and visitors to use the river – currently the city’s most under-used artery – as a means of transport.

Illuminated River will communicate the river’s rich heritage and ecology, encouraging more people to engage with the river and riverside areas. The Foundation is working with councils to improve access to these areas for local communities, and has involved nearby schools in river events and learning. A broad public engagement program of events and activities is planned for the illumination of the first four bridges.

Illuminated River’s smart LED technologies will replace current outdated and inefficient lighting on the bridges, providing a more long-term and sustainable solution for lighting the Thames at night. Removing metal halides and halogens and employing energy efficient LEDs with custom fittings will save 50 – 70% energy compared to conventional lighting, as well as reduce direct light spill onto the river by 75%, providing a better environment for Thames flora and fauna.

The artwork for the phase one bridges (London, Cannon, Southwark and Millennium bridges) will be turned off at 2am, unlike current lighting schemes which stay on till dawn. The Illuminated River Foundation feel it is environmentally responsible to do so.

The electricity supply for Millennium, Southwark and London bridges comes from City of London’s appointed supplier which provides 40% of its energy from renewable sources. The City of London aims to increase this to 100% during the lifetime of the Illuminated River project.

The Illuminated River Foundation will fund the maintenance and energy costs of all bridges that are not currently illuminated. We are reducing the current running costs of those that are already substantially lit. After ten years, the lighting kit will be gifted to the bridge owners.

Illuminated River will refocus attention not only on the bridges, but on the public spaces around them, improving the public realm and encouraging more people to come and enjoy the river and riverside areas at night.

Environment

Although first and foremost an art project, the Illuminated River Foundation has taken great care to ensure both a positive cultural impact and a responsible environmental approach. The installation has been created using the latest LED lighting technology, which typically saves 50-70% energy, compared with conventional lighting. This lighting replaces outdated and inefficient lighting on the bridges, such as halogens, halides and fluorescents, providing a more long term and sustainable solution for lighting the Thames bridges at night.

Lighting fixtures have been specially designed to minimise direct light spill onto the river (which can be harmful to fish) by 75% and will cut light spill entirely on some of the bridges. We will be switching off the artwork at 2am, reducing energy usage from previous schemes which ran all night, from dusk to dawn. This is to preserve the darkness that is so fundamental to the Thames, and we hope will encourage others to do the same. The fact that the installation features kinetic instead of static content, also reduces the amount of energy used.

Overall, we are expecting a 17% reduction in energy usage in the first year. Ecotricity will be supplying 100% renewable energy for Cannon Street Railway Bridge. The electricity supply for Millennium, Southwark and London bridges comes from the City of London Corporation’s appointed supplier which provides 40% renewable energy. This is expected to increase to 100% within the lifetime of Illuminated River. 

The connected lighting supplier to the Illuminated River Project, Signify, complies fully with the requirements of the EU WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) directive which requires products to be re-cycled at the end of life.

Legacy

The project has created a new resource of data, including 3D scan and measured surveys of the Thames bridges, the first ever luminance studies (to understand which buildings and structures are creating light pollution on the river), and bat and bird surveys of the riverside areas. These will be made available to partners and the public, leaving a positive legacy for London.

The highly responsive lighting and control infrastructure to be put in place will enable greater, more coordinated and efficient control over the lighting of the bridges well into the future. A legacy group of bridge owners have now been brought together, to review and manage the lighting of their bridges into the future.

Timescale

The first four bridges – London Bridge, Cannon Street Railway Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Millennium Bridge – will be illuminated in Summer 2019, with the next phase completed in Autumn 2020.