Bold, Programmable Lighting Upgrade Helps Draw Visitors to Key Destination Point in Calgary
Chinook Centre can now brightly celebrate local events, holidays and causes with new thematic exterior LED lighting
The CF Chinook Centre (more commonly known as Chinook Centre) was always destined to be a major destination point for Calgary. Opened in 1965, it is conveniently located near the city center and is only 20 minutes from Calgary International Airport. Over the years, it grew to become Calgary’s largest shopping mall with more than 250 stores and restaurants.
Beyond providing a sublime shopping experience, Chinook Centre offers numerous dining options, including seven full-service restaurants, and fun entertainment options, including a 16-screen movie theatre with IMAX, a nostalgic handcrafted carousel, and a bowladrome for bowling enthusiasts. It is also well known for its special features that include a towering Albertosaurus, imaginative flying machines and a time capsule located at the center of the mall’s four-story rotunda.
Despite an overall bleak forecast for shopping malls in both Canada and the U.S., Chinook Centre is thriving with numerous new and expanding tenants added just since late 2022.
Previous light fixtures not up to par
All that was missing to make Chinook Centre look like a top-tier destination point was high-tech, dynamic exterior lighting. According to Jonathan Reid, the sales rep for lighting supplier Christie Lites Sales headquartered in Ontario, the 15 halogen flood lights that previously served to spotlight the mall’s exterior were toward the end of their service lives. Plus, they had been installed just beneath the building’s upper canopy, so they were only illuminating the underside of the flat canopy and did not light up the vertical wall faces at all.
“The previous fixtures did not align with the new vision for Chinook Centre which was to theatrically illuminate the tower and provide opportunities to thematically change the look of the building to help celebrate and raise awareness for various events, holidays and goodwill causes,” said Reid.
Reid also noted that another objective for the new lighting was to provide programmable and customizable new media to engage visually with the public, invigorate the visual appearance of the tower, and position the mall as a high-energy, beautiful landmark along the city skyline.
The team involved in the lighting renovation found the solution to all these objectives in Acclaim Lighting’s Unity H1 + Aria + Pharos Designer. The products were installed at various elevations along the rooftop of the mall and spread over 300 linear feet at the base of the professional tower. Since Chinook Mall management did not want any direct light into the windows of the building, an uplighting approach was adopted for the Unity fixtures.
Nearly unlimited color possibilities
“What we really liked about the Unity fixture was the fact that it offered a full-color mixing spectrum, as well as brilliant whites and various color temperatures,” said Reid. “It also provided a variable beam spread and brightness.”
When describing the attributes of the chosen fixtures, Michael Giardina, General Manager from Acclaim Lighting, explained, “Unity H1 fundamentally rethinks what an outdoor LED floodlight can be. It uses the all-new Spectrum Five engine to provide perfect, high output/high CRI whites, dynamic white operation, and full color mixing in the same unit.”
The Unity H1 fixture from Acclaim Lighting additionally provides a single, fully homogenized beam with no color striations or separation. With the addition of the Aria Wireless DMX system from Acclaim, the installation of the Unity fixtures did not require additional conduit or low-volage lines on the roof.
Going the distance
“It was important that the chosen wireless DMX solution be rated for the harsh winter conditions that are typical in Calgary,” said Reid. “We were also impressed with the range of the wireless signal and strength of the Aria product and the fact that no additional receivers were needed. Easy integration, along with plug-and-play technology were added bonuses.”
According to Giardina, Aria wireless is a compact, local, outdoor-rated wireless DMX system. It can function as either the sending or receiving point, allowing users to select up to 15 channels on the 2.4 GHz band. The internal wireless radio features both automatic networking and signal routing optimization to ensure the best possible reception of DMX data. A 5dB, omni-directional antenna is included to provide transmission up to 2600 ft line of sight and 300 ft between obstructions and walls.
“What sold us on the Pharos Designer software was its excellent schedule capabilities and its ability to create scenes,” said Reid. “We also liked the easy user interface and touch-screen options.”
The Pharos LPC (Lighting Playback Controller) is an award-winning, all-in-one control solution for themed entertainment and LED lighting installations. It features individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes which allow users to build dynamic, precise, fully customizable pre-programmed lighting effects with the freedom of real-time manual overrides.
Recognizing Canada’s fallen heroes
These customizable, pre-programmed lighting effects were put to use during the debut of the new lighting renovation on November 11, 2024, as part of a special Remembrance Day celebration. As a British Commonwealth country, Canada recognizes Remembrance Day (originally called Armistice Day) which marks the end of hostilities during the First World War and an opportunity to honor all those who have served in the nation’s defense.
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