London’s bridges will soon glow thanks to American light artist, Leo Villareal. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced last night the winning team, who is led by Villareal and renowned British architects and urban planners, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, to help London sparkle.
Hannah Rothschild, Chair of the Illuminated River Foundation, said: ‘Leo Villareal’s proven ability to paint with light matched with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ direct experience of building bridges over the Thames was an irresistible and inspirational combination.
Courtesy of Leo Villareal and Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
‘Their scheme is beautiful, ambitious and realisable but always considerate to the environment, lighting levels and energy conservation. The jury is convinced that the winning team will transform the centre of London while remaining true to the spirit and integrity of the Thames and its communities.’
In what’s to be the largest public art project London has ever seen, the winners are not wasting any time. Development of the design concepts in collaboration with stakeholders and partners and in talks with the public, has already commenced. Work on the bridges themselves will officially begin in 2017.
The Illuminated River Project hopes to celebrate London’s bridges, lighting 17, from Albert and Tower Bridge. Villareal, came to prominence through his celebrated project, The Bay Lights, which lit San Francisco Bay Bridge for two years.
Courtesy of Leo Villareal and Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
Leo Villareal said: ‘I'm delighted and humbled by the fact that the jury went with an artistically-driven vision for the Illuminated River. The whole team shares a belief in the power of large-scale public culture and art to enrich our cities.
‘We want to listen to Londoners in developing the scheme to deliver at all levels of art and light, urban design and architecture, the environment and sustainability. Our aim is for a lighting masterplan which reduces pollution and wasted energy, is sensitive to history and ecology and subtly rebalances the ambient lighting on the river to provide a beautiful night time experience for residents and visitors.’
The seven month contest saw submissions from 105 teams and 20 countries worldwide. The six shortlisted contestants displayed their work at the Royal Festival Hall last month which was visited by over 100,000 people and raised over £10m in funds. Now that the winning team has been chosen, we can’t wait to see the final result.
