Projected Image Digital (PID) has supplied and installed over 80 standard and custom Element Labs VersaTUBE LED fixtures in a stunning architectural lighting feature at the brand new AIB (Allied Irish Bank) Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

The VersaTUBES create four 22.25 metre high vertical lighting columns in the lift cores of the building's central atrium.

This beguiling piece of ‘live art' was conceived by London-based architectural lighting practise Pritchard Themis as part of their lighting concept for the new AIB building which was designed by RKD Architects and constructed by Sisk to accommodate 4000 non-branch AIB staff.

They wanted something that was high impact and visual that also accentuated the space. The tubes form elegant, stylish, flourishing columns undulating with morphing colours, textures and bands of movement either side of an impressive glass ceilinged atrium space, which houses the complex's central restaurant.

The brief required a fixture that would look bright in daylight to coincide with most of the Bankcentre's working hours.

PID was approached after previously working with Pritchard Themis on the new O2 HQ in Dublin in 2006.

PID dispatched technician Ian Henderson to oversee and co-ordinate the installation.

The equipment supplied included 84 standard definition 1 metre VersaTUBES, 4 standard definition half metre VersaTUBES and 4 custom-built .75m standard definition tubes. The .75 tubes are the last (top-most) in each of the runs, and were necessary for an exact fit into the space.

The tubes are all mounted onto stainless steel trays which were then inserted into cavities in the lift wells.

PID produced special video content to the client's brief, which includes a series of abstract patterns based on AIB's corporate blue and green colours. Because of the tall thin nature of the columns - giving a 356 x 4 pixel image - this had to be carefully thought-through to gain maximum impact.

The content is controlled via one Element Labs VersaDRIVE C1 controller, with local processing of 4 Element Labs B2 buffer boxes per Lift Core. The idea is that the client will also have the option of selecting alternative content to reflect different moods in the space.

It was a fully CDM regulated construction site, and getting access to the higher levels of the lift cores was the major challenge during the installation period. Henderson had to hire a special Spider Man lifting vehicle to facilitate this, enabling him and his team to work safely and accessibly at the top level heights of 22.25 metres.

Working around the myriad of other trades all fighting to get their elements complete by the target opening date was also another major factor, but once complete and programmed up, the VersaTUBE columns are extremely eye-catching and have become a common talking point at the Bankcentre and beyond!