| The Eco Halo |
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| Design Team |
Dante Leonelli - Artist Gumuchdjian Associates - Urban Design Expedition Engineering - Structural Engineering Spiers & Major - Lighting Design Hanscomb - Cost Consultancy W S Atkins - Transport Consultant Street Furniture - Woodhouse Weber Shandwick - Public Affairs Consultants RichardWilding - Digital Imaging & Graphic Design |
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Eco Halo Project |
The vision of Dante Leonelli for the Eco Halo can be seen on his website at www.danteleonelli.co.uk. The work of the design team for the exciting Eco Halo Project has been funded by London Electricity. The planning application for the scheme was granted conditionally by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on 13/11/2002. |
| Long term vision | Taking the current High
Street Kensington refurbishment as their cue, NHIG has proposed an
equivalent long-term streetscape plan which could co-ordinate these
proposals within an overall and coherent streetscape framework. The
current scheme concerns the erection of two Halos which will act as a
magical and ethereal landmark, celebrating the ‘Gate’ as a special public
place. Located at the entrances of one of the borough’s busiest underground stations, and at the hub of the east-west and north-south routes, the Halos mark the ‘Gate’ at its points of greatest intensity. The simplicity and purity of the Halos bring a sense of harmony to an otherwise disjointed urban scene. |
| Hovering halos | By night, the Eco Halos
hover in suspended animation above the busy junctions. Colour changes
occur imperceptibly in response to environmental conditions or as
programmed by artists. By day, the Halos can be seen to be suspended above the urban streetscape, cradled by a filigree of stainless steel threads. The almost invisible 2 mm diameter threads gather to three slender masts, and define an elegant glistening form. |
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| A safe structure | The masts and cables will have sufficient tensile strength to deal with strong winds and other weather conditions. |
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| Light | The Halos will be solar powered and use a mix of low energy red, blue and green LEDs within a polycarbonate diffuser to create a spectrum of soft glowing colours which will be clearly visible in the daytime. The combination of directional LEDs and a directional diffuser controls night sky light pollution and unwanted light spillage. |
| Low maintenance | The visible components of the structure will be fabricated from corrosion resisting high quality stainless steel and this combined with solid state LED technology provide long life durability. Mounted high above the street and protected by a tough polycarbonate diffuser, the Eco Halos will be well protected from casual vandalism. A cleaning schedule would be comparable to that applied to existing street furniture. |
| Planning Permission | Conditional planning permission was granted by the Planning Services Committee of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on 13/11/2002 for 5 years. |