LED luminaires from WE-EF LIGHTING Pty Ltd were selected by lighting design firm PointOfView (POV) to illuminate the ANZAC Memorial located in Hyde Park in the Sydney CBD.

Designed by architect Bruce Dellit, the ANZAC Memorial was constructed in the 1930s and chosen as the centrepiece of the ANZAC Memorial Ceremony in 2014. The City of Sydney and NSW Public Works Government Architects Office wanted to illuminate the structure in a befitting way.

POV’s major challenge was to design an illumination system that would reflect the emotion and reverence of the event while achieving subtle, seamless integration of luminaires. The limited time of six weeks available to complete the job, and the fixed positions of the existing pole structures, added further complexity to the work of the design team. High-performing equipment from WE-EF in a range of lens and wattage configurations, featuring cutting-edge lighting technology was used to address the complexities of the project.

The monument includes four granite sculptures in each corner, representing ‘The Four Seasons’ and 16 seated figures that signify the ‘The Arts of Peace and War’. Using bold lighting effects, the POV design team was able to enhance the facets of the architecture without too much intricacy, yet enough to reveal the details.

This was primarily achieved using LED narrow beam projectors mounted on poles and focused on each of the statues. While higher wattage projectors were installed to give prominence to the four corner statues, lower wattage was used for the seated figures. Uplights were used to define the inner face of the columns.

The lighting design brings the statues to life with warm amber LEDs integrated into the Ziggurat-styled stepped roof to define the crown, and linear LED integrated uplighting anchoring the corners of the building, with high-output LEDs concealed within aluminium angles. The lighting is controlled by a time-clock.

The light sources were mounted on poles beyond the boundary of the site, with long anti-glare snoots and tight, narrow beam control used to achieve the desired lighting effects from a distance. In addition to offering benefits such as long life and easy maintenance, LEDs allow very tight beam angles to be created using lensed optic technology with limited spill light outside of the peak beam angle.

The latter was important not only to achieve the effects of the overall design but also to minimise light spill into one of the biggest parks in the centre of Sydney’s CBD; this was a vast improvement on the previous lighting scheme, which saw the monument floodlit from all sides.

WE-EF luminaires specified for the project and supplied by Light Culture included the 24W FLC131 and 36W FLC141 projectors with remote gear and spigot mounting. The Type 1 mounting allowed the pan and tilt movement that was required for the fittings. These WE-EF fittings were found suitable for the job due to their lumen output, together with narrow beam angles and a colour temperature that was complementary to the stone.

The lighting design received an award of commendation from the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand (Lighting Society) with the judges commenting that it was a testament to how a worthy project could still be delivered by a collaborative team. The judges added that the Sydney landmark could now be further appreciated by the implementation of a well-designed lighting scheme.