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Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel), is a world-class multi-dimensional lifestyle destination that comprises a myriad range of offerings including gardens and attractions, retail and dining offerings, a hotel and facilities for airport operations. It has an iconic glass and steel façade, with a total gross floor area of 135,700 square metres (sqm).
Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Jewel’s iconic architecture will see a balance of daylight and the use of lighting fixtures throughout the entire complex. As time passes, expressions of light gradually change, to reveal the full 24-hours of pre-set lighting operations.
Aimed at being the next tourist icon in Singapore, Jewel was born with the idea of marrying both contrasting poles of a serene garden and the bustling city. Taking cues from the Mythical Gardens in different cultures, such as the Garden of Eden, Shangri-La and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, this Universal Garden vision was to offer rewards to all ages, cultures and abilities.
Lighting concept
Our lighting intention for Jewel was to create a 24-hour immersive visual experience in which the gentle and slow transition of natural light was also reflected in the artificial lighting.
From afar, Jewel facade glows with bluish-white lighting that alludes to a depiction of clear daytime sky for a soothing and calming impression. The colour would constantly shift within its blue hues to show the transition of time, while creating a pleasant colour contrast with the warm interior lighting. Up close, the glow around the facade fades from floor to ceiling, with the light glowing from the interior gaining prominence and dematerialising the facade.
For interior space, the concept was to have an amphitheatre to enjoy around the clock. Lighting colour temperature, brightness level constantly changes, giving different experiences throughout the entire day. The Retail area was clearly distinct from the Garden spaces through differences in brightness levels. The Retail area frontage is brightest and the light levels are concentrated towards the perimeters whereas in the garden space light levels for safety and circulation are intentionally kept low so that our eyes are able to wander into the magnificent views. Pockets of light are created instead of a homogenous lighting experience so that we are able to appreciate light as well as dark – a sequential rhythm is created that allows us to appreciate light without using too much of it.
At the centrestage of it all, is the HSBC Rain Vortex with its own unique lighting. The Green Spaces right from the Canyons, Shiseido Forest Valley and Canopy Park have an orchestrated lighting scheme that complements the HSBC Rain Vortex lighting and its shows.
Lighting Fixtures
Mostly LED fixtures were used except for some small areas that still had fluorescent and metal halide. Fiber optic was used for the firefly effect at Shiseido Forest Valley, West Gateway Garden and the attractions at Canopy Park.
Step and coping lights are the main provider for functional light at the two walking trails within the Shiseido Forest Valley, with spike-mounted spotlights for trees at the Shiseido Forest Valley. Tunable white downlights and linear LED strips for cove were introduced at the Retail Corridors.
Challenges and special feature
One of the big challenges for the project was to define a mutually agreeable brightness within the internal space among the client, architect and ourselves. The client had very clear guidelines for car parks and retail areas. For the landscape areas it needed more engagement with the various stakeholders.
The lux distributions we had initially proposed based on the discussion with the architects and landscape designer were considered inappropriate for the functional reasons. Thus, the extensive research to establish desirable lux strategies was conducted, and we visited number of commercial projects together with the client.
The HSBC Rain Vortex show is without a doubt a special feature of the project. From the beginning of the project, interfacing between architectural lighting and show lighting has been discussed and studied for a smooth lighting experience during the show.
Most of the light fixtures at the Shiseido Forest Valley, terraces (tenant areas) and Canopy Park are under dimming system to dim down when there is a show. Programming of scenes, dimming levels and fading time had to be changed multiple times at site for a dim enough for the show yet safe lighting environment.
Design team:
Lighting Design: LPA: Lighting Planners Associates
Architect: Safdie Architechts / Benoy Architechts / RSP Architechts
Planners & Engineers
Landscape: PWP Landscape Archtiects / ICN Design
Main Construction Contractor: Woh Hup / Obatashi Singapore
Owner: Changi Airport Group, CapitaLand
